


Bump in the Night

by 98tuffluv



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Death, Demon AU, Eventual Smut, M/M, Seriously graphic torture, Sorry Not Sorry, Supernatural AU - Freeform, Viktor is a hunter who thinks Yuuri is dead, Will tag the chapter with smut in when we get there, Yuuri is a hunter that gets turned into a demon, Yuuri with two 'u's, angst and pain, demon hunter AU, demons are their own species, switching pov's, viktor with a 'k', will get more into the lore as we go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2018-09-16 21:12:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 43,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9289787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/98tuffluv/pseuds/98tuffluv
Summary: Viktor Nikiforov is the most notorious and feared hunter in the world. Yuuri Katsuki is his fiance and a fellow hunter. The two were set to be married, until Yuuri is abducted from their home by a group of demons that want to exact revenge on Viktor. In the process, Yuuri becomes a demon, but Viktor believes his beloved to be dead. Yuuri sets out to find a way to turn himself back into a human while trying to keep from being found out by his betrothed who wants his demon self dead (or does he?).((Demon/Supernatural AU where Yuuri gets turned into a demon and Viktor literally does not know how he feels about that, because demon Yuuri is hot as hell [get it?]))





	1. Turned

Cement walls and cement floors echoed the sound of footsteps ominously. The soft clack of the hard bottom of a pair of boots meeting the smooth, solid floor boomed in the otherwise silent building. There were windows sprinkled along the outside, large garage doors sat on the other end, and shelves the went to the criss-crossing rafters littered the place. It was an old warehouse, long abandoned by a company that had been out of business for years, and it was the perfect place for a demon hive to set up its roots.

Abruptly, the footsteps halted, and someone let out a soft exhale before they picked up once more. The pale figure sauntering through the aisles was inherent confident, bordering on the line of cocky, but never daring to cross it because he knew where that got him. Hair that was several shades lighter than the floors danced over his left eye, swaying lightly as he walked, and making the undercut that he had far more obvious than it would be if he were standing still. The other eye, naked and revealed to the world, was framed by lengthy eyelashes which only served to illuminate the brilliant blue of his iris.

In rough, calloused hands sat a sawed off shotgun. The weapon was simple, used, and dependable if the state of the gun was anything to go off of. It was worn, but well taken care of; polished, cleaned, and treasured. Obviously, it was the weapon of choice for the man, but it wasn't the only weapon that he had among his collection.

Silver knives, bottles of holy water, caskets of salt, various sizes of chalk, and two twin-pistols that were holstered to his thighs were also among the small armory that he kept on him at all times. Among them, a clip of various books, donning the various symbols of differing religions, swung with each step that he took. Each item was meticulously taken care of, but it was obvious that all had been utilized before, and they were all designed to do the same thing: trap and kill demons.

He had already taken to outlining the perimeter with devil's traps. He knew it wouldn't catch all of the demons inside, but he hoped to grab as many as he could once he shoved a stick into the bee's hive. Of course, every demon in there knew his name, knew how many he could kill, and he was willing to bet that a vast majority of the beasts would flee before even thinking about facing him. Then again, this particular hive had guts that he wouldn't have expected from any demon. Not many dared to anger him.

No, not many dared to go against Viktor Nikiforov. Viktor was a famed hunter, with a kill rate so high that no one bothered to keep track anymore. He was ruthless in his methods of killing the beasts and he didn't take prisoners. Every demon he met died and that was just the way that it was.

Or, well, it had been until the bastards had decided to mess with his personal life.

Viktor remembered the night well. He'd been at the skating rink, taking a load off for a short while when it had happened. At first, he didn't notice anything wrong when he got home, toeing off his shoes. The lights were off, but he figured that the other occupant of the home had just decided to go to bed, and made his way to the bedroom.

When he opened the door, he'd frozen, and instantly pulled a pistol from his pants. There was no one there...and that was the real problem. The bed was empty, the room was utter chaos, and it was so still, almost like a picture taken in the aftermath of a bombing. Only this photograph felt a lot more personal and Viktor set his jaw as he looked around the destruction to find any clues that would tell him what had happened.

He'd knelt on the floor, picking up a frame, and cradling it in his hands. His eyes narrowed and he carefully pulled the picture inside of it out. An ominous note was left behind and Viktor knew that he was going to draw out the death of whoever would _dare_ to ruin such a precious thing. And he wasn't just talking about the photo.

It was easy enough to find his feet after that, clarity returning to his head as he began wreaking havoc on the demonic community. As he left the room, the picture itself fluttered to the floor, landing upright, and revealing a smiling Japanese man in a suit pressing a kiss to Viktor's cheek. On his right hand, a ring glinted in the sunlight, and it was matched by a hand with longer fingers that curled around the other's arm. The two were genuinely happy, the frozen moment was beautiful, but someone had written over the top of it, and the message made his blood boil.

That was what had brought him to the warehouse. He'd gotten a tip from a long time hunting friend that he could find what he was looking for in the building and he hoped he wasn't too late. It had already been an agonizing week since he'd started his search and if this tip happened to be false, Viktor didn't know what he would do.

A soft scratch of a foot leaving a high shelf was all the warning he got, but it was warning enough. Without hesitation, the shotgun was raised, cocked, and fired into the chest of a free-falling demon. The creature screamed in pain, hit the ground, and vanished in a puff of dust. Viktor let the empty shells from the gun clatter to the floor, expertly shoving two more in, and prepping the gun for another shot if necessary, but everything went silent again.

Righteous fury made him wish that more of the bastards would just _try_ to face him, but they must have realized that the tales of the carnage he left in his wake were true. He cracked his neck, heading to the back offices, and kicking in the door. A few demons were hiding in the room and immediately shot out to attack him.

With practiced ease, he shot the one that jumped first, dropped the shotgun, and disposed of the other two with a silver knife. He wiped the blade off on a shirt that was left behind as the creatures exploded into dust and slid it away. He picked the gun back up, reloading it, and going to the next office.

The next room was empty, save for one demon that was killed before it could even react. Viktor set his jaw, continuing to office after office, and growing slowly more agitated as what he was looking for continued to evade him.

It was the second room on the next level that Viktor found him. His precious Yuuri, surrounded by several demons. One of them held a knife to the man's throat, but Viktor could tell from the way that Yuuri's shirt looked that he had already been injured. Without hesitating, he aimed the shotgun at the one holding the knife, and glared down the barrel, “Let him go, _now_.”

“Now why would I want to do that?” the bastard grinned, flashing a set of unnaturally sharpened teeth. Even for demons it was excessive. Most just kept their elongated canines, but this one was obviously _proud_ of his demonic heritage. Disgusting.

Still, Viktor relaxed his jaw, shooting the demon a chillingly calm smile, “You're well aware of what I can do with just my bare hands. Would you like to see how you fair against me and my arsenal of weaponry?”

“You're not getting a chance too,” the knife was pressed harder into Yuuri's neck and the other man whimpered against the cloth that had been shoved into his mouth. That made Viktor falter as he looked at his fiance, eyes filling with an expression that was akin to pain, and he gripped his gun tightly, “I'd put the gun down before your boyfriend here finds himself with a slit throat.”

Yuuri's eyes widened and his hands curled into the arm of the chair as he fixed Viktor with a pleading gaze. For a moment, the Russian man considered just taking on the room, but the look on Yuuri's face got him to pause. He took a breath, planning his next moves carefully as he slowly knelt down and put the shotgun down.

He stayed on his knee for a second before he whipped out a pistol and shot the demon in the head before he could react. Viktor didn't wait to make sure the bullet hit its mark, emptying the rest of the clips into the rest of the demons until the room was filled with nothing more than dust and drying blood. He panted in the aftermath, flicking his hair out of his face, and putting the guns away, “Are you alright Yuu-”

He faced his fiance, immediately paling, and running to the man's side, ripping the gag out of his mouth, as Yuuri jerked in the seat, blood pouring from the wound in his neck. Viktor had underestimated how hard the demon had been holding the knife and the shot to the head had caused the being to fall back, dragging the knife with him, and severing the skin on Yuuri's neck, “V-Vik-ktor-” the choked sound of his fiance struggling to draw in breaths wrenched his heart and he shook his head.

“Sh-sh...” he took out one of his knives and cut Yuuri free from the chair. He knew. He knew he was too late and he would never get to hold Yuuri in his arms again, but he hadn't imagined that this was how things would end.

Viktor cradled his dying husband, holding the back of his head, and keeping him from jerking too much with the other arm that held him around the waist. He pressed Yuuri's forehead to his chest, trying to hold back the onslaught of tears that were threatening to overflow, and failing as a few drops dripped into Yuuri's hair, “V-Vik-”

“Sh Yuuri,” he quieted him again, speaking softly, and rocking him a little, “Oh Yuuri...Yuuri I'm so sorry,” his voice broke and he buried his face into the other's hair, stifling his sobs into the dark, tangled mess as he felt Yuuri starting to go still.

“L-love you-you,” he heard the faint whisper, close enough to catch it before everything went quiet. The flood of sorrow that he felt was unbelievable. It filled every cell in his body, wrenching a new waterfall of tears, and a scream to express the agony that he felt as he held the body of his deceased spouse close to his body as though he could share his very being with Yuuri and bring him back.

He curled his fingers into Yuuri's hair, clinging desperately to the other man, “I love you too, _lubov moya_ ,” he spoke softly, slowly letting his hold on Yuuri lessen. He swallowed the lump in his throat, supporting Yuuri's neck with his arm, and using his other hand to gently cover up the lifeless amber eyes. Once his eyelids were closed, Viktor pushed his hair back away from his forehead, and laid a kiss to the skin there. One final tear fell down his cheek, splattering on the surface, and spurring Viktor to pull away.

With a tenderness that hadn't been shown all night, picked Yuuri up, and laid him on the cool metal of the desk. If it weren't for the blood-stained area around his neck and the stickiness of his and Viktor's shirts, one might have thought that he was simply sleeping. The thought brought more tears knocking and he quickly brushed it aside as he removed his lengthy trench coat. As though he were tucking him in, he laid the coat over him to cover the bloody marks that revealed that he wasn't some sleeping beauty, and laid one last kiss to his cheek, cupping the other with his hand. Reluctantly, he drew away, not taking his eyes off of the body as he backed towards the door.

Had he stayed in the doorway for just a moment longer, he may have noticed the twitch in Yuuri's hand.

But he didn't stay, he didn't want to stay. He'd spent every moment that he could bare with Yuuri and he resolved to get through his husband-to-be's death within the next few days. Then...then he'd take revenge on every demon that dared to set foot on the face of his planet.

Viktor stepped outside after nearly twenty minutes, having busied himself with something else inside. He stopped several feet away from the building, narrowing his eyes, and gritting his teeth as he lit a match. He flung it through the air, watching it soar through the open door, and taking another step back as blue-green flames instantly poured from the building.

The screams that came from inside gave him a small bit of satisfaction and he stayed put for another moment before turning and walking away from the burning site.

*******

**========================================================================**

*******

When Yuuri woke up, everything was _hot_. He blinked, squinting at the ceiling, and sighing softly as he took off his glasses to try to clean them. He was shocked when he realized that everything was clearer without the aid of the blue frames. For a moment, he mulled over the thought, but then he realized that everything really was way too hot, and it wasn't because Viktor was layered under several layers of blankets with him.

Fire danced on the outside of the room that he was in and his eyes widened. Holy fire. Why was there holy fire? Where was he? Why was he laying under Viktor's coat and why was...why was his shirt sticky with blood. What the hell had happened?

Instinct suddenly took over his need for answers and he bundled up Viktor's coat in his arms before looking for a way to escape. Luckily, there was a window in the room, and Yuuri ran at it, kicking it until the glass shattered. He ignored the sharp pain of a shard embedding itself into his leg, instead leaning out of the sill, and swallowing as he looked down at the drop that he was going to have to face in order to get out of the burning building.

Closing his eyes, he trusted his gut, and leaped out of the window. Surprise coursed through him as he landed on the balls of his feet without only mild pain coming from the piece of glass stuck in his calf. He reached down and pulled it out, tossing it aside, and coughing as smoke billowed around him. He covered his nose with Viktor's coat, inhaling the smell, and running from the warehouse as quickly as his feet could carry him.

Before he realized it, he was far, far away from the burning flames. In fact, he didn't even know where he _was_. He'd somehow managed to find himself in a secluded grove of trees and a quick look around told him that he wasn't even close to the place that he'd just run from. Had he zoned out that much that he hadn't realized what he was doing? He didn't feel that tired though and he could only assume that he'd had to have gone quite a ways for quite a while in order to get that far away.

He brought his fingers to his hair, curling them there, and closing his eyes. Okay. Okay, he needed to get control of himself. What did he last remember happening?

Memories suddenly flooded his mind and he winced, opening his eyes again, and staring at the ground. That's right. He'd been sleeping when demons had managed to get past his and Viktor's defenses to break into their apartment. Had it been demons? Some were probably crafty enough to pay off some humans to do the damage instead, but it hurt his head too much to try to focus on any one detail of his assailants.

He'd struggled until one of them knocked him out and he'd woken up in a small office-like room. His wrists were tied behind him and more rope had been wound around his chest and ankles. A gag was in his mouth and his head _hurt_. He could only figure that that was from whoever had taken it upon themselves to knock him out.

After that, things were a little blurry. Probably because he was just terrified and he had really been wishing for one of his pistols or a little bit of holy water or _Viktor_. His heart had yearned for his fiance to find him, mostly because that was the only way that he was going to be able to escape. He was in the middle of a hive and there wasn't a chance in hell that he could pull a Viktor and get out of there unscathed.

On the eighth day, he'd heard laughing, and fear struck at him as some demons approached him. For the most part, they'd just left him alone, and had only seemed bored to be on guard duty with him. The eerie grins on their faces had him shuddering and straining against the ropes, but there wasn't anything that he could do.

One of them stood in front of him, looking down at Yuuri as the second demon circled around him. Sharpened fingernails dug into his hair, yanking his head back, and ripping a muffled shout of pain from him as he was forced as far back as he could go. The first demon was still in front of him, but it was more difficult to tell what he was doing as Yuuri could only make out a blurry figure through the slit between his glasses and the bottom of his eye.

It didn't take long to figure out what they were doing as the one in front of him dragged his claws down Yuuri's front. Another shout of pain escaped him and he could feel the blood sliding down his belly. The demon wasn't done yet, though, and Yuuri shuddered and clenched his eyes shut as he felt a tongue lapping up the beading drops of blood.

“We're going to drain you dry pretty boy,” the one holding his head back spoke and Yuuri stared up at him with wide eyes. He was confused, not understanding why they would wait so long to just wind up killing him after all of it, “Not yet though, but tonight. Gotta get you pretty close though.”

Another swipe of claws ripped into his abdomen and he screamed, his back arching as far as it could off of the chair, and his wrists straining against the ropes. His chest heaved and tears pricked at the corners of his eyes as another swipe of a wet tongue lapped up the blood that was pouring from the lacerations on his gut. Panic swept through him and he wondered if this was how he was going to die. That made him sob softly and he choked on the gag until the demon standing over him seemed to take pity and ripped the cloth out.

“P-please-!” he didn't get to finish his sentence before a bleeding wrist was shoved against his mouth. He wrinkled his nose in disgust, trying to jerk free from his bindings, and to turn his head away, but he was held firmly in place. The blood was beginning to build up in his mouth and it had nowhere to go, so he was forced to swallow. He coughed, the taste was revolting, and it made his stomach want to empty itself, but he didn't get the chance as more of the substance was forced down his throat while yet another set of cuts was made on his belly.

It went on for a few agonizing minutes and Yuuri let out a choked sob of relief as the wrist was finally pulled away. The demon behind him let his hair go and he lifted his head up, hanging it, and staring dizzedly at his lap. Everything felt...funny and surreal.

He remembered the gag being replaced. He remembered the knife at his throat. He remembered Viktor, beautiful, glorious Viktor standing in the doorway, framed by light like his guardian angel. He remembered a gunshot and then pain across his throat. He remembered choking on blood again. He remembered being cut free. He remembered Viktor crying. He remembered...he remembered _dying_.

He gasped, jerking himself from the memories, and shoving himself back against a tree. No. No, he couldn't have _died_. It had to be some sort of hallucination that was set off by the blood. He let out a shaky breath, running his fingers through his hair, and shaking his head. It didn't matter, he was free, and he could go _home_.

With that in mind, he pushed himself away from the tree, and rubbed his head as he tried to reason his way through the craziness of the night. Luckily, he could see the city in the distance, and he began making the trek back towards it. He felt relieved as he got to the rather empty streets and traced the familiar sidewalks until he got to his and Viktor's shared house.

He paused in front of the lawn, nearly crying with relief, and went to step over the cement, but was flung back by an unknown energy. He shouted as his back scraped against the asphalt of the road and he held his head as he stared in confusion at the place that he called home. What the hell? That wasn't supposed to happen unless a demon tried to set foot on the premises-

“No...” the realization hit him across the face and he scrambled to find some sort of reflective surface so that he could try to prove himself _wrong_. It would explain a lot, the quick movement, the lack of need for his glasses, the fact that the cut that he'd had from the glass was all but gone, his inability to set foot onto his and Viktor's property-”Oh god,” he found himself staring into a puddle.

His canines were much longer, pointed, and curved in his mouth. His nails were thicker and pointed at the end. A twist of his head confirmed that his ears had become somewhat pointed on the end and his eyes had a slight glow to them. The pupil was slightly slitted, but circular enough that any normal passerby wouldn't notice, but Yuuri noticed, because Yuuri had been a hunter. Yuuri had killed the very thing that he'd become.

He clamped a hand over his mouth, staring at the ground, and taking sharp, uneven breaths as panic struck him. He'd been turned into a _demon_.

For a moment, he sat there, wallowing in his fear, but he realized that it was a very, _very_ bad idea to be sitting in front of his and Viktor's home. He was sure that Viktor loved him, but that love was more than likely going to be used to excuse Viktor killing him, and Yuuri didn't want to die. The thought struck him as odd. He'd always thought that if the unthinkable should happen, that he'd want to just go to his lover, and beg for him to put a bullet into his head, but now...now he didn't want that.

He still felt like himself. He just looked a little different and his gut twisted as he wondered if he would wind up becoming one of the monsters that he and Viktor had spent so many years killing. The very idea made him shiver and he dragged himself to his feet. He needed to leave.

He looked at Viktor's coat, the object still clutched in his hands, and he held it to his chest, inhaling the scent before making his way down the sidewalk. Yuuri would come back, one day. He'd continue living life as normally as he could as a demon, but, more importantly, he would work on finding a way to cure himself so that he could go back to being with Viktor. He would fix himself...he'd do everything in his power to remove the curse that had been laid upon him.

First though, he had to figure out the extent of everything that had happened to him. Some demons were stronger, others only obtained the physical changes, but Yuuri could tell from his eyesight and the way that all of the cars seemed to move much slower that things had changed a lot for him. He knew he could heal quickly, run even faster, and that was everything. He wasn't sure if there was anything else that he had stored inside of him, but he was determined to find out if there was.

His heart ached as he realized that he would have to leave Viktor behind for god-knew-how-long. His condition and Viktor's position on demons would make it impossible to see him though and Yuuri didn't know just how much of a monster he had become. As far as he could tell, he was still himself, just with some different abilities, and he was starting to question the entire morality of the profession that he had once considered himself part of.

He walked for a while, trying to find somewhere secluded that he could do some experimenting in. In all truth, he didn't know what he was doing, but he had to try to do _something_. He would go mad if he just hid and scurried away all the time. As much as his anxiety impeded him from doing everything that he wanted, he knew that it only got worse if he wasn't being productive. Considering the fact that he was a demon, hunting seemed like it would be some sort of version of murder, and he wasn't quite sure how he felt about it anymore. He decided to just ignore that though, he had other things that he could focus on besides his previous work.

The night was starting to fade by the time he found somewhere that he figured would be a good enough hiding place. He crept into the condemned home, checking to make sure that no one else was in there, and he was delighted to find that it was empty. Still, he didn't want to stay on the main floor, and he found himself descending into the basement after discovering a set of downward stairs behind an innocent looking door.

It was temporary, but it would work. The cement set up of the basement vaguely reminded him of the warehouse that he'd been in before and he shuddered at the thought, but he didn't have many other options. Until he could make enough money to get himself settled, an abandoned basement would have to do. Besides, he couldn't easily show himself in public. His ears would give him away instantly so he'd have to wait until it grew out or until he could get a wig.

He realized that he'd have to come up with a completely different identity for himself. He could no longer be Yuuri Katsuki or Viktor would find him and Yuuri would never be able to get back the love that they had. He needed to change his hair, his overall appearance, his name, his mannerisms...everything. As far as the world knew, Yuuri Katsuki was dead, and he intended to keep it that way until he could become a human once more.

He made his way back upstairs, going to the bathroom, and looking at his appearance in the mirror. Chewing on his lip, he tried to think of how to change up his look enough that no one would recognize him. On the bright side, he didn't need his glasses anymore, so that would work in his favor, but his messy mop of hair was a dead give away. As he tried to think of what to do, he brushed his fingers through it, pulling it back, and staring for a moment.

A smile crept across his face and he pushed his hair back out of his face more, holding it back with his fingers, and humming in approval. He needed some gel or running water so that he could keep it like that, but those things would be easy enough to procure. It was a different style from his normal look and he figured he could dye it a lighter brown so that it wasn't the pitch black that it had always been. On top of it being different, it also pushed enough of his hair back that it covered his ears, and hid his identity as a demon too.

Inhaling slowly, he knew that changing his mannerisms was going to be the most difficult part. He was a timid person by nature, but the new Yuuri couldn't be like that. Confidence was never his strong suit, but if he was going to survive, he had to be sure of himself. Of course, easier said than done, and he looked at his appearance, knowing that it would take a little bit of time before he was able to be out in public for long periods of time.

Then again, he could just move away, but for some reason he didn't want to do that. He didn't want to leave St. Petersburg behind...he didn't want to completely leave Viktor behind either. The chances of him running into Viktor were slim though and Yuuri knew that he would have to stay on his guard just in case. God only knew what would happen if Viktor laid eyes on him and recognized him. It would be a disaster and it terrified Yuuri to no end.

“Hey!” a voice startled him from his position and Yuuri came to the conclusion that he had gotten way to absorbed in his thoughts. He gasped, jerking his head up, and looking in the dirty mirror to see a man behind him. He was thin, with thick black hair that fell neatly in front of his forehead, and dark gray eyes that were so _piercing_ that Yuuri felt as though he were being impaled by the gaze itself, “What are you doing in here? Don't you know that this place is condemned?”

Yuuri blinked, stunned into silence for a moment, and then slowly turned around to face the new comer, “Well...yeah, but why are you in here if it's condemned?” he questioned, letting his fingers fall from his hair. It fell in pieces back into his face and he irritably blew it out of his eyes, meeting the darker skinned man's gaze directly.

The younger man went to retort, but stopped, his eyes fixing on the side of Yuuri's head. He quickly clamped a hand over his ears, eyes widening in horror. He'd already messed up and he hadn't even been a demon for more than a few hours! Silence stretched between the two of them before the other man spoke up, “How long ago were you turned?”

The question hung in the air and Yuuri swallowed, feeling as though he were choking down cotton, “J-Just today. Or...yesterday. I'm not sure really. It's been a long night,” he sighed, lowering his eyes. He'd been caught in the act, but he was slightly confused as to why the other man wasn't freaking out or trying to kill him.

“Oh man...I'm sorry. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you or anything,” the reassurance was...genuine and Yuuri felt himself relaxing despite himself, “I'm Phichit by the way! I kind of live here with my friend Celestino. Well, not really my 'friend' I guess. He turned me about a year ago in order to save my life, but we've stuck together ever since...”

“You're a-?” Yuuri's head shot up and he stared, not able to believe his luck. Finding not one, but _two_ demons? One of which was only a year old and the other that was assumedly older and more experienced with the whole 'being a demon' thing? It seemed as surreal as the rest of his situation so Yuuri figured he probably wasn't hallucinating it.

Phichit smiled and the tension in the room melted away immediately, “Demon? Yeah. I remember when I first got turned, everything was _really_ confusing. You're just lucky that you managed to get here without getting found by one of those demon hunters. Did it happen near here?”

He shook his head, “It was outside of the city, some old warehouse I-...” he paused, not wanting to admit that he had been _one_ of those demon hunters that Phichit seemed to think of with severe distaste, “I was walking in the nearby area and they grabbed me. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in a burning warehouse. I got out and then I was _really_ far away from it. It's...this is all really weird,” he pressed his head into his hands, suddenly overwhelmed, “I guess I just wound up walking back towards home, but...”

“You don't want the people you care about to know?” Phichit guessed, immediately picking on Yuuri's fear. A silent nod was the response that Yuuri was able to force out and the other demon put his hand on Yuuri's shoulder, “Don't worry, I did the same thing. Well, actually, I would have seen my family if Celestino hadn't stopped me from running off. It's a good thing he did, they probably would have freaked out if they knew about this whole demon thing.”

Yuuri scoffed, the sound bitter and grating even to his ears. A drip of liquid fell from his eyes, landing on the floor, and he curled his hands into tight fists, “You have no idea...” he spoke softly, unable to think of Viktor's inevitable reaction if he found out. The anger, the twinge of guilt, but the ultimate steel knowledge that he was going to do it regardless of his feelings. Yuuri honestly didn't want to dwell on the thought to much. It just made coping harder, but he still couldn't stop the tears that were flowing freely.

“Oh man...” before he could stop it, Phichit had pulled him into a tight embrace. At first, Yuuri stiff, but he slowly relaxed into it, and then full on buried his face into the other demon's shoulder, “It's okay...” he continued to murmur soft and reassuring words as he rubbed Yuuri's back, “How bad could it really be if they found out? I mean, you might want to take a few months to curb the blood lust, but-”

“My fiance is a demon hunter,” he pulled back abruptly, leaving Phichit to stare at him in open-mouthed shock. Yuuri closed his eyes, lowering his head, “We both were. Some demons, I don't know who...they didn't like us. They didn't like _Viktor_ because he's _Viktor Nikiforov_ and they found out that we were together. They used me against him. I'm pretty sure that they intended for him to stick around until I woke up as a demon, but that didn't work. Now he just thinks I'm dead, but it's so much _worse_ , and if he finds out he'll _kill_ me and...and I can't. I can't have that happen.”

Phichit was quiet for a moment, seeming to still be processing everything, “Well...jeez. Talk about irony,” he stopped when he saw the flash of pain and anger on Yuuri's face, holding up his hands, “Sorry! It's horrible, what happened to you. No one should be turned against their will, even if they are a uh...” he cleared his throat, “Nevermind. What I meant is that that's awful. It's worse that he wouldn't accept you because of this and I'm sorry that you're losing someone so important.”

Yuuri sniffed, inhaling shakily, and wiping away the bitter tears that were still plastered to his face. His cheeks felt stiff and gross and he knew that his eyes were puffy and inflamed from crying, but he did feel better now that he'd let out all of his pent up emotion, “I'm not going to lose him. I'm going to find a way to reverse this and become a human again. I won't let this drive us apart, but I won't let it get me killed either. The only way to keep our relationship going is to go back to how I was and-”

“You can't,” Phichit interrupted him, a slightly pained expression evident in his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest, “There is no reversing this. You're stuck as a demon Yuuri, I'm sorry, but-”

“No,” Yuuri stopped him, unable to help the slight glare that he sent the other demon's way, “I won't lose Viktor! He thinks I'm _dead_ and like this I might as well be to him. If I can't become human again then I can't be with him and if I can't be with him then I might as well go find him in the middle of a hunt and get him to pull the trigger.”

The darker skinned man's eyebrows furrowed and his eyes narrowed as he snapped at Yuuri, “Don't say something like that! I know you love him, but...you shouldn't ask for death like that. Hell isn't a fun place from what I've gathered and I don't think you want to spend eternity in there so quickly. I mean, look on the brightside! You're immortal now and I'm guessing that you got more abilities than just the speed running. That's pretty cool.”

“I'd rather have a year to live if it meant I got to spend that year with him,” he spoke without hesitation, looking at his right hand, and idly spinning the golden band around on his ring finger. He smiled ruefully, taking the ring off, and clutching it in his palm, “We were supposed to get married this spring. Once the snow melted we were going to get married in Japan while the cherry blossoms were in bloom...”

“I...well...you still shouldn't go off and get yourself killed. If you're going to find some way to turn yourself back into a human then you need to stay alive, but it might take his entire lifetime or more to find the answer. Just fair warning,” Phichit raised his eyebrows as though asking if Yuuri was willing to risk it.

Without hesitation, Yuuri smiled, opening his palm, and staring at the band that glistened even in the dark of the bathroom, “I won't let it take that long.”

“You're certainly determined,” a new voice spoke up, startling both of the young demons as a tall man who looked quite a bit older than the two of them peered in from the doorway, “Let's see how long you hold onto that before you give up like all of the other's.”

Yuuri drew his eyebrows together, setting his jaw, and clenching his fist again, “I won't give up on this, no matter what. Even if Viktor dies, I'll do everything in my power to become human again. No matter what the cost is.”

The man grinned, stepping into the bathroom, and clapping one hand on Yuuri's shoulder, the other going to shake his hand, “That's what I like to hear! My name is Celestino, Phichit probably already told you about me. If you'll let me, I'd like to help you to at least gain control of your new demon body. Consider me a...demon coach of sorts.”

He looked up at the taller man, distantly admiring the way that his hair fell in the loose ponytail that it was pulled into. He blinked, squeezing the hand that was holding his, and nodded, “I would appreciate it, thank you.”

“It's settled then,” he smiled, letting go of Yuuri, and slinging an arm around him and Phichit. The two let out startled sounds as they were yanked into an awkward side hug, “Looks like our little hive has grown to three now, huh?”

Yuuri smiled, feeling only a little awkward in the presence of the two demons. It was probably to be expected since he had been a demon just a few days ago...and he did feel raging anger towards the ones that had done this to him. Given the state of the warehouse when he'd left, though, Yuuri figured that Viktor had taken care of them, and if any got away, they'd be dealt with too. That made Yuuri a little concerned and he looked between the two of them, “You guys aren't super...murderous or anything are you?”

They both looked surprised by the question, but Celestino broke the tension with a booming laugh, “No Yuuri, we aren't the types to kill for fun. I've been on the face of this planet for centuries and the only reason I've been able to stick around that long is because I kept my hands clean. I've done my best to see to it that every young demon I meet does the same thing, but not all of them took my advice.

“Phichit is one of few. Otabek was another one of my protege, but he left a while ago. He does well on his own. Jean-Jacques is a fool on his own, but he found himself a level-headed lady to keep him in check,” he rubbed his chin, seeming to be thinking back on previous 'students' of his, “Those are the only ones still alive now I think. Phichit is the only one I turned though. He was an ice skating student of mine for a few years. Someone mugged him outside of our Detroit rink and I stopped him from bleeding out,” Phichit smiled as though it were a fond memory, which struck Yuuri as very odd, “I found Otabek stalking a group of tourists in Russia,” he seemed to see the look on Yuuri's face and smiled gently, “He'd been turned a few days before and he hadn't realized what was going on. Blood lust is a terribly strong thing, it's amazing that he refrained from attacking them at all.

“Anyways, JJ. I found him ditched outside of a music hall on a college campus in Canada. Whoever turned him attacked him and left him for dead. I was able to help him a lot sooner than Otabek,” he finished, crossing his arms over his chest, “Technically, our hive is actually five people, but you and Phichit are the only ones sticking around. The other two might pop in at some point, but we should have warning before they waltz in.”

Yuuri listened to the explanation of all the living demons that Celestino had helped, making minor mental notes, and nodding slowly, “I'm...glad to hear that you're helping them like that. Can you help me though? Teach me to control my blood lust? Help me learn about my abilities and what I can do with them?”

“Of course I can!” Celestino assured him, voice echoing in the tiny bathroom as he beamed down at Yuuri, “Don't worry so much Yuuri. We'll get you started with some blood packs, we keep them at our other residence though since the fridge here doesn't really work. Come on, we should be getting back there anyways. You look like you're in need of some blood.”

“It'll be great Yuuri! The apartment's kind of small, but you and me can share a room,” Phichit seemed ecstatic and Yuuri couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face. The other demon's energy was just so...happy it was difficult to be upset or angry around him, “I don't know about getting a bed yet though...you can just help me move the couch in. I hope that's not to uncomfortable for you. Or we can share the bed if you want-”

He was quick to stop him, holding up his hands, and shaking his head, “The couch is just fine Phichit, thank you. Both of you,” he amended, eyes flicking between the two demons, “I'd be pretty screwed if it wasn't for you guys,” he bowed, hair falling completely back in front of his face.

“No thanks necessary Yuuri, we're happy to help,” Celestino promised, clapping a hand on his shoulder as Yuuri straightened up, “Now, let's get you home. I'm sure that you'll want to get a feel for your new surroundings and I'd like to get started on training your restraint as soon as we can.”

Yuuri nodded once, letting the other two demons lead him out of the home. The sun was bright and burning on his sensitive eyes and he scrunched them up, looking down as he blinked rapidly to try to adjust to the sudden increase of light. He rubbed his eyes, hurrying to catch up with the other two demons as they made their way to a car that was idling by the curb of the sidewalk.

They got in, Phichit taking the front seat, and Celestino getting behind the wheel. Yuuri sat behind Phichit, folding his hands in his lap, and turning his head to look out the window. He bit the inside of his cheek, watching the sights of St. Petersburg fading as the car drove away. Nothing was going to be the same from that moment on, but he was extremely lucky that he'd found Celestino and Phichit...or that they'd found him at least.

He smiled faintly, resting his head on the window. _I'll come back to you Viktor. I swear it._

Then St. Petersburg was gone and Yuuri's new life began.

 


	2. Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor returns to the warehouse and reminisces over his and Yuuri's past. Yuri Plisetsky makes his first appearance and Yakov sends Viktor on a mission to kill three foreign demons before they establish a hive.

Viktor spent months checking over the burnt warehouse to check to make sure that everything that could die had. He felt relatively satisfied with the results, but there was still an empty void in him that would likely never be refilled. Yuuri was gone, forever, and coping with that sort of loss was something that Viktor had never wanted to go through. He'd thought that they would at least grow old together, give up hunting, and age into old men who loved each other dearly.

The thought brought tears to his eyes and he bowed his head, hands curling into themselves. He felt hot tears gathering on his lower eyelashes until they overflew, dripping onto his shoes and the singed concrete beneath him. A lump grew in his throat and he looked to his right hand, absently twirling the golden ring around his finger. He still couldn't bring himself to remove it...

Aside from clothes and pictures, it was the most solid thing of Yuuri's that he had. It was supposed to be a wedding ring, he was _supposed_ to be Yuuri's husband, he was supposed to announce his retirement from hunting on their honeymoon, he was supposed to grow old with Yuuri, and they were supposed to live long, happy lives together...

He sucked in a breath, snapping himself from his stupor. Wallowing in his sorrow wouldn't avenge Yuuri and Viktor had spent many, many years alone before. Surely he could do it for a few more or until he was killed doing his job. He wasn't sure which option he preferred at that point, but the latter was starting to sound more tempting. It wouldn't happen until all of the demon's that had been present for Yuuri's death were gone though and Viktor knew that at least a few had escaped from the raging inferno that he'd left them with.

He berated himself for not sticking around to finish the job, but he couldn't handle it. The crushing weight of Yuuri's death, of having held Yuuri in his arms as the other man's life faded from his eyes, of hearing his last words being his declaration of love, of not being able to say that he loved him too. That he loved him more than he had ever loved anything and that he would give up everything that he had for the ability to be with Yuuri again.

In the emptiness of the warehouse, he sank down, pressing his fingers through his hair, and staring up towards the ceiling. If only Makkachin were still alive. She had been such a good dog and Viktor was glad that she got to live out a long and happy life, but he missed her. He missed everyone that he had lost...he blamed himself for each and ever one of their deaths too.

He could have taken better care of Makkachin. He could have spent more time with her, paid more attention to her needs as she aged, and done more as a caretaker. Yuuri...he could have been home. He could have given up hunting as soon as he and Yuuri were engaged. He could have killed the demons faster before they could even get the knife to his beloved's throat. He could have done so much...and they weren't the only one's that had been lost in the turmoil of his life, but they were the freshest in his memory, and they were the two that he had been closest to.

He leaned back against a wall, dropping his hands uselessly to his sides, and letting himself get lost in the good memories that he had of Yuuri. His precious katsudon, his little piggy...his fiance, his husband, the person in his life that brought out parts of him he had been suppressing for so many years. He could be himself around Yuuri, no fake smiles, no loneliness...

The day that they met had been interesting at least. They were both tipped off about a demon hive that had taken up running a series of clubs in Detroit which was really a guise for a blood-trade. The farce allowed them to abduct humans and the results were typically brushed off as runaways or murders that would never be solved. The authorities couldn't connect the clubs since they were all owned by different people and had given up, but Viktor and Yuuri had recognized the signs of demon activity and had gotten around to staking out the areas.

At the time, Yuuri was in school, and was only a year or so away from getting a business degree. He intended to go back to his hometown of Hatsetsu to help run his family business and perhaps to expand it or to create his own business. He hunted on the side, doing his best to make his temporary home as safe as he could while hiding from his parents that he was even a hunter. His family knew nothing of the supernatural, which Viktor had found funny, but Yuuri's explanation about what had gotten him into hunting in the first place made it clearer about why that was.

Yuuri hadn't been in hunting that long when Viktor met him, it was obvious by his tactics, but he had skill. In fact, he'd gotten involved just after he moved to Detroit when he'd been assaulted by a demon that had attempted to kill him. Luckily, a hunter was nearby, and saved Yuuri's life. In return, Yuuri promised to learn as much as he could before the hunter moved on, and settled on protecting the people of Detroit.

It wasn't as fabulous or exciting as Viktor's tendency to bounce around the world to go on hunts, but it was endearing, and it made Yuuri all the more likeable. He was timid and quiet, but he had determination, and that carried him far. It was probably the thing that Viktor had been most inspired by when he met Yuuri in the dingy bar where both of them were hoping to be “selected” by the demon's running the joint so that they could kill the operation from the inside out.

Viktor had decided it wouldn't hurt to flirt and the adorable Asian man had caught Viktor's eye the moment that he stepped into the club. So, he'd waltzed over, and plopped down next to him. He flicked his fringe away from his face, even though it just fell right back anyways, and looked to Yuuri and the dejected shot that sat to his right, “Not very interested in dancing or drinking are you?”

The man had appeared lost in thought...or maybe he was tired. Viktor wasn't sure which, but, either way, it was bad for anyone to be that unaware of their surroundings, “Huh? Oh. Uh. No to dancing, but I've already had a couple of shots. I try not to get too drunk when I'm alone in public,” he explained, voice hesitant as he looked Viktor over.

In an instant, he realized that Yuuri wasn't admiring his looks, but rather looking for signs of him being a demon. A flicking gaze to see his uncovered ears, eye-contact that lasted a little to long as Yuuri examined his rounded pupils. Viktor couldn't help his grin and he laughed, leaning in closer. Yuuri's chin was caught between his thumb and forefinger before the other man could blink and he breathed, keeping his voice low so that they didn't tip anyone, “Getting in a little deep for a new hunter aren't you, little piggy?”

“W-wha-?” Yuuri's cheeks went bright red and Viktor decided that he desperately enjoyed that look on him. The blush was quickly disappearing however as Yuuri glanced around and looked at Viktor with furrowed eyebrows, “How did you know?” he hissed between his teeth, probably worried that the Russian man had blown his cover.

“Don't worry, piggy, I'm doing the same thing as you,” he winked, reaching over to take the still-full shot glass, and downing it with a wide smile, “But you can go home now, I can handle this...or I could give you my hotel and room number and you could wait for me there~” he kept his voice alluring, deep, husky, and hopefully attractive enough to score him a night with the beautiful man sitting to his right.

“I hope that you're intending to pay for that,” the rejection was a mild slap to his ego, but he took it in stride, and continued beaming at the scowling man. Viktor doubted that Yuuri was actually irritated about Viktor taking the drink, but rather that the other was threatening to take the mission from him. In all honesty, Viktor was worried about him, and he didn't want both of them getting involved if it meant that one of them wasn't making it out alive because they got distracted or weren't experienced enough to handle themselves.

Viktor's laugh was light, airy, and utterly false. He'd perfected it after years of dealing with the general public and he leaned in closer to Yuuri, knowing full well that his breath would smell of the alcohol that he had just swallowed, “And if I offer to pay for that and the next two?” without waiting for a response, he sat up, waving down the bartender, and asking for two more glasses.

Once they were in front of him, Viktor slid one to Yuuri, watching him expectantly. It took a few seconds and it looked as though Yuuri was fighting with himself, but, inevitably, the Japanese man reached over and picked up the shot. He downed it and Viktor swallowed his a few seconds after Yuuri. He smiled, but this time it was genuine, and Yuuri managed a feeble one in return, “Um...thanks, but I'm not having anymore,” he warned, setting the glass down.

“Of course not,” Viktor all but purred, paying for the drinks, and then looking to Yuuri with a devious grin on his face, “Shall we dance little piggy? You won't get enough attention by just sitting at the bar,” it wasn't true, but Viktor really did want to dance with Yuuri. He had a feeling that if he chipped away the surface, Yuuri could be a lot of fun, and be far more open than he had been recently.

Yuuri seemed to take that as a challenge and the look in his eyes sent a thrill though Viktor's core. He definitely hadn't expected to see something quite like that when he'd offered a simple dance. Suddenly, Yuuri gripped his wrist, and the two of them were shoving their way into the center of the grinding crowd. He was shocked, but pleasantly so, and he was more than happy to let Yuuri get them started.

The darker haired man looked at him with a flare of determination, pressing right up to him, and standing on his tip toes so that they were eye-to-eye, “This is my job,” he spoke loud enough that Viktor could hear him over the music, but quiet enough that nobody else could, and Viktor shivered as Yuuri nipped at his ear lobe.

“Remind me to buy you shots more often,” he smirked, moving his hands down to grip Yuuri's hips, and swaying in time with the rhythm of the music, “But if I let you go in there alone you'll come out as nothing more than strips of fat and bacon. You're new to this, little piggy, and this is a job that should definitely be left to more professional people.”

“And who are you to say that you're more experienced than I am?” Yuuri challenged, his hips rubbing against Viktor's, and dragging a low groan from Viktor that rumbled in his chest, “I've been doing this for longer than you think, so how about you quit underestimating me, hm?”

Viktor laughed, leaning in so that he could speak directly into Yuuri's ear, “Because I'm Viktor Nikiforov and I'm fairly certain that my lifetime of hunting experience is much greater than your's,” it was his turn to bite at Yuuri's ear and he felt the stutter in the other's grinding before it stopped completely. Yuuri pulled away, eyes wide, and face flushed as he stared at Viktor.

“You're...?” he didn't finish the sentence, looking around anxiously again before shaking his head, and grinding up against Viktor again, “Well, Viktor, I'm Yuuri, but I'm still not giving up on this hunt. I've been working really hard to figure out which of these places was the head and I'm not about to quit just because some fancy foreigner runs in and decides that he owns the place.”

“Mm...are you always this spicy?” he asked, pulling Yuuri's hips flush with his own, and pressing a not-so-innocent kiss to his neck, “I'm rather found of food with a bit of a temperament,” he teased, not caring that they were in public as he kissed up to his jaw, and grinned victoriously as Yuuri's movements stilled once more. He pulled back to see the other staring at him in slack-jawed shock and Viktor's couldn't help the laugh that spilled from his lips.

Yuuri furrowed his eyebrows together, huffing as Viktor laughed, and reached down and- _oh_ , “I appreciate the compliments Mr. Nikiforov,” the words left Yuuri's lips and they sounded downright _dirty_ holy shit, “I'm here to do a job, not to get laid by the person who's supposed to be doing the same thing.”

Well. That was a mood killer. Yuuri let go of his crotch and Viktor adjusted his pants, huffing softly, “Fine, fine. Back to the bar it is then,” he sat down at a stool, letting Yuuri take a spot next to him. Viktor ordered another shot for himself, looking at Yuuri, who just shook his head, and declined. The older man shrugged, waiting for his drink, and watching as people began to file out of the club. Odd...he didn't think that it was that late.

He shrugged it off, looking back the glass was pushed towards him. Yuuri had his phone out and was absently scrolling through it. Viktor smiled at the simple sight, almost preferring Yuuri in that position rather than the more... _enticing_ one that they had been in just a few minutes before. Without waiting any longer, he downed the shot, and frowned slightly. It tasted a little off, but he ignored it.

Yuuri glanced up at him, tucking his phone away, “Well um...we might just have to come back another night and see each other again,” a.k.a there apparently weren't any pickings for the night and Viktor and Yuuri probably needed to leave considering everyone else was evacuating.

“Ah hm...yeah...one sec...” he accepted another glass that was given to him, drinking it without thinking about it, and setting it back down on the bar, “Thanks,” he added to the bar tender, slapping another bill on the counter before pushing away.

One second, he was watching Yuuri stand up, and the next he was face-planting onto the ground. He heard Yuuri shout in surprise, which was followed by a bunch of rapid-fire...Japanese? Viktor couldn't tell, but he figured that's what it was. The world was shaky and Viktor was only slightly aware of rough hands grabbing him under the arm pits and Yuuri screaming before falling eerily silent. After that, things were pleasantly dark and calm.

 

*******

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*******

 

Viktor wasn't sure how long it took for him to wake up, but, when he did, his head was throbbing, and he was _really_ regretting those last couple of drinks. He'd just been trying to take his mind off of the stress of the world, but he'd wound up getting- _fuck he'd been fucking drugged_. He hadn't paid attention the man preparing his drinks, having been far to distracted by Yuuri to notice the slip of his hand. He was too drunk the really care about the taste and he felt like an absolute moron. There he was, thinking that Yuuri would be the one getting distracted...

Yuuri. Oh the poor man was probably worried sick and had likely wound up in a similar position to Viktor. Viktor should have realized that the club was closing way to early and that they were the only two that had been allowed to stay. He was a fool for drinking so much and letting himself become so enamored with a man he had only just barely met.

He squinted in the darkness of the room, tugging at the ropes that held his wrists behind his back, and then at the ones that kept his ankles pinned together. He was sitting in some sort of chair at least, but he couldn't see anything. The room itself was pitch black, save for a sliver of light that crept in dully from underneath the door itself. At least he could make out that outline and, since he could, he watched it, and waited.

It wasn't long before it opened and Viktor met the gaze of the demon that had entered evenly. The creature huffed, flicking a light on, which caused Viktor to flinch, and seating himself in a chair across from Viktor. The Russian remained nonchalant about the situation, tilting his head almost curiously, and letting his hair fall from his face, “Can I help you sir?”

“Oh cram it Nikiforov,” the man spat out his last name as though it were a filthy word, slamming a fist on the desk in front of him, and startling Viktor a little, “Thought you could come here and take us down?” the demon scoffed, standing up from the seat, and walking around the desk in order to stand on Viktor's left, “Thought we wouldn't recognize that mess of hair?” Viktor had to refrain from shuddering as the beast dragged its fingers through his lengthy hair, “The eyes? The complete and utter cockiness?” he laughed, grabbing Viktor's face, and twisting his neck until they were staring each other in the eyes, “Looks like that got you into some serious trouble, _Viktor_.”

“You know, it's rather rude to grab someone like this without consent,” Viktor replied as though nothing had been said to him. That earned him a harsh smack that had his head reeling and vision swimming. Looked as though the drug hadn't completely flushed itself from his system by then, “Normally, I'm okay with a little smacking around, but a small bit of warning would be appreciated next time-”

“Shut up!” the demon's fingers dug into his cheeks again and Viktor hoped that it wouldn't bruise. He'd hate to have that creature's marks on him, “You aren't going to charm your way out of this, Viktor. You've killed to many demons to get out of here alive,” his face was shoved away and he worked his jaw, watching the demon plop back down in his seat.

Viktor raised an eyebrow, leaning as far forward as he could, “Hm, really? Then why haven't you killed me yet exactly?” he couldn't keep himself from asking, because he really was curious to know what was going to happen him. He wasn't scared per say, more intrigued, because if they kept him alive then that meant that his death would at least be interesting. He had always wanted to go out in some extreme way and his choice in career almost guaranteed that he would die in a way that a lot of people didn't.

“We're waiting on our last member to return. He was out taking care of some skater kid,” the demon waved a hand dismissively, “It doesn't matter, you can just sit tight until he gets here, and then we can all enjoy ourselves while we suck you dry, Nikiforov. It won't bring back all of us that you've slaughtered, but I think we'll satisfy their souls enough when you get sent to hell.”

“Aw, you think so highly of me,” his voice dripped with pristine sarcasm, which earned him a scowl, and a glare. Viktor just rolled his eyes, slumping back into the seat, and starting to pick at the rope's knot while he waited. He started to loosen it, but someone else walked in at that moment, and he stilled, looking at the newcomer.

The two demons in the room looked to each other and then at Viktor, grins filled with to-sharp-teeth greeted him, and he picked at the knot a little more desperately. Maybe he had gotten a little to cocky this time around, maybe he should have started working on the knot the second he realized that he was tied up, but it was a little to late for realizations now. He bit the inside of his cheek, straightening up, and keeping a brave face as they approached him.

“Oh how the mighty will fall,” one of the demon's hissed and Viktor couldn't help the shout of pain that escaped him as they wrapped their hand around the base of his hair, gathering it up tightly, and then, the weight was gone. Viktor was...shocked to say the least. He'd never even considered getting his hair cut past a trim, but then it was just _gone_.

A glance back had him seeing the lengthy, silver locks falling to the ground in a sad heap, and he couldn't believe that those assholes had the _audacity_ to chop off his hair. He'd been growing it out for _years_ and they just decided that they were going to cut it? How dare they? He hadn't done anything to deserve an unwanted haircut.

“Aw, don't worry _Vitya_ ,” the original demon's breath was unbearably hot against his ear, “We're just making it easier to get to that thin little neck of your's. You know, it's kind of funny that _you_ of all people are one of the most feared hunters on the planet. You're barely-”

A shot rang out and Viktor coughed as the dust exploded everywhere. The other demon that had cut his hair didn't have time to react before he to was reduced to a pile of tiny particles. Viktor blinked, looking to the doorway, and breaking out into a toothy smile, “Yuuri! You found me!”

“Who's the professional again?” Yuuri said, but it was obvious that he was teasing. Viktor laughed heartily, shifting in the chair as Yuuri approached, and used a small knife to cut the ropes free. He felt sure that he would have been able to undo the knot before the demons could kill him, but he was also grateful that Yuuri had been there to save him. He definitely owed the man his life...and an apology for being a bit of an ass earlier.

“Yuuri, you wound me,” he replied dramatically, flicking his hair out of his face, and feeling a slight pang in his chest. He was going to miss his hair, but he wasn't sure if he was going to grow it back out again. It felt...wrong to try to replace what he had had, but he definitely wasn't going to keep the style that the demon had given him. It wasn't in his range of tastes.

Yuuri scoffed, kneeling down, and cutting his ankles free before holding out a hand to help him to his feet, “Not as badly as the demons that were about ready to rip out your jugular,” he made sure that Viktor could stand steadily and passed him a gun. Together, they made their way to the doorway, and Viktor felt a familiar thrill creeping into him.

The adrenaline was probably the biggest reason as to why he stuck with hunting rather than leaving the business to pursue other hobbies or careers. There just wasn't anything that could replace the feeling of knowing that you could die at any given second. Especially since that death would be personally brought to you by a creature that tended to move far faster than you could. Maybe he took pride in being able to kill beings that were supposedly 'superior' or maybe he was just an adrenaline junky with a death wish. The world may never know.

“C'mon,” Yuuri kept his voice down, turning right down the hallway, and leading Viktor through a maze of turns, doors, and endless hallways. Where were they? The hive must have some large residence if they were able to have Yuuri and Viktor walking for what felt like ages. But Viktor felt certain that there wasn't building with this layout in Detroit...not to his knowledge at least. Maybe they'd gone to one of the outer cities?

Finally, they reached an area with windows, which led them to the front door. Viktor was slightly disappointed that they didn't find any other demons on their way out, but there wasn't much that he could do about that unless he literally wanted an entire hive to come after them. He'd put Yuuri in enough danger though, so he refrained, and quietly followed Yuuri out into the front yard. He kept a wary ear out in case some demons tried to follow them and stuck close to the Japanese man. If nothing else, Viktor would make sure he made it out alive. It was the least that he could do to start repaying the debt that he owed Yuuri.

The rest of their walk was uneventful and Viktor and Yuuri made it out without so much as a scratch. Well, that was a lie. The right side of Yuuri's face was bruised, likely from where he'd been hit in order to knock him out. Viktor assumed that they had intended to use Yuuri as blood, which they had, but they hadn't realized that Yuuri was _also_ a hunter, so they didn't take any of his weapons off of him. He got away pretty easily once he woke up to say the least, but he'd at least been kind enough to stick around to get Viktor out of his sticky situation.

“Yuuri,” Viktor finally spoke to get the other man's attention and Yuuri looked at him with a quirked eyebrow that just simply stated 'what', “Thank you, for what you did back there. You didn't have to come back for me and I'm not sure that the infamous Viktor Nikiforov would have made it out of there without your help,” he hadn't spoken so seriously all night, but he meant every word, and he hoped that Yuuri could at least start to understand the depth of his gratefulness.

He blinked, looking at Viktor, and laughing, “You would have done the same for me if the situations were reversed. It's no big deal, really. I should have stopped you from drinking, but I didn't know that it was drugged...”

The memory faded and Viktor felt a twinge of guilt. “You would have done the same for me if the situations were reversed...”. The words were going to haunt him until his dying breath, because he hadn't done the same for Yuuri. He had failed and he was never going to forgive himself for that. At very least, he could kill the demons that were responsible, which was what he was intending to do anyways, “I failed you Yuuri...”

“Oi! Viktor! Are you still moping around in here!” a sharp, harsh voice cut through Viktor's stupor, and the older man looked up. His eyes narrowed a little as a figure came to stop in the doorway before all but stomping over to him as though he had pissed the teen off by simply existing, “Get off your ass already. You're not doing shit if you're just going to sit there and cry all day, Nikiforov.”

“Yuri,” he groaned a bit, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes, “What are you doing here? I'm handling this all on my own, I told Yakov-”

“To shove it up his ass when he said more people should help, I know,” Yuri huffed, blowing a piece of shaggy blond hair out of his eyes, “You've been gone for hours and everyone's been worried. I told them to shut it, but they kept bitching and moaning so I figured that I should come drag your ass back home before everyone keels over from heart attacks. Honestly, you'd think that you were actively suicidal or something. I guess you are, but you're not looking to die yet, and everyone should know that by now.”

Viktor smiled fondly, pushing himself to his feet, and brushing off the back of his pants, “Alright, alright. Although a simple phone call would suffice if you guys would like to get in contact with me. Really, the uses of technology in this day and age go so unnoticed, and I would think that you of all people would have resorted to that first.”

Yuri scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest, and shooting Viktor an annoyed look with piercing green eyes, “Maybe scraping you off of the ground wasn't the only reason that I came here, _Viktor_. There's some things that Yakov wants to talk to you about. I don't know what they are,” he interjected before Viktor could ask, grumbling a bit before his arms dropped back to his sides. The younger teen hooked his thumbs into the pockets of his skinny jeans and jerked his head towards the door, “Come on, Viktor. You should really stop coming back here anyways. It smells like rotten demon dust,” Yuri's nose wrinkled unpleasantly, but Viktor understood the implications behind the statement.

The others really didn't like that Viktor kept aimlessly returning to the warehouse. Viktor had justified it by saying that he was looking for any signs of the other demons that may have gotten away, but he had gathered all the evidence that he could. In all truth, he was visiting the place that he considered to be Yuuri's grave. He'd never brought flowers or anything, but he wanted to visit the unofficial grave site of his deceased lover, and no one could deny him that.

Still, it brought up bad memories, and put Viktor in positions like the one that he had been in before Yuri had shown up. Parts of him wondered if Yuuri was a ghost haunting the building. He could have sworn that he heard his beloved whispering his last words in his ear on several occasions. That could have also been him replaying the scene over and over again in his mind. Despite it being rather morbid and disturbing, Viktor treasured it more than anything. It was the memory that gave him fiery determination to avenge Yuuri.

“Viktor! Come on!” Yuri's voice broke his concentration and Viktor began to make his way to the exit for the building. He glanced back over his shoulder once more, his eyes immediately getting drawn to the office where Yuuri's body was resting. He lingered for just a few seconds to long, but he finally left, letting the heavy metal door shut behind him.

Yuri was at least kind enough to stay silent as the two of them made their way back to the car that Yuri had brought. Viktor had a tendency to walk or run to the warehouse in the mornings as part of his daily routine. He hadn't noticed that several hours had passed since he had gotten to the building so it was no wonder that his little hunting family had noticed his absence.

Yuri, Yakov, Mila, Georgi, and Viktor made up the small band of Russian hunters. Each of them was well-known, gifted, and merciless in their field. They were tightly knit, which was uncommon for hunters since most preferred to live a life of solitude rather than deal with the pain of losing a loved one like Viktor had.

Yuri Plisetsky was the youngest out of all of them. At sixteen years old, he was a limber spitfire who often ran his mouth enough that it got him into trouble. Still, he was a swift killer when it came to demons, and no one could deny his ruthlessness. He tended to wield a simple pistol, but his other weapon of choice was an engraved silver knife that he kept attached to his hip at all times. He moved with the grace and ferociousness of a tiger, which had earned him a rather suitable nickname.

Yakov Feltsman was the oldest and technically retired. He took young, aspiring hunters under his wing, and trained them to be battle-ready for any given moment. In his younger years, he had been brutal. His brute strength and sheer size had terrified any demon that came near him and Yakov's reputation never left him. Even in retirement, he was more than capable of taking down a group of demons with nothing more than his bare hands.

Mila Babicheva was an odd one. Despite her petite size, she could lift Yuri with ease, and Viktor if she tried hard enough. She was an expert in disguise and infiltration and often used her looks to woo demons of all genders into letting her into their lives. Once she was in, she did the job quietly, swiftly, and effectively. She was the one who often dolled out information on potential hunts and her research was scarcely wrong.

Georgi Popovich was one of the older members of the group. He was a bit on the dramatic side, but demons often underestimated him and his capabilities as a hunter. His downfall was his hopelessly romantic tendencies, but he made up for it with his furiously brutal methods of hunting. No one was sure what his kill count was, even demons didn't know, but Viktor assumed that it was high.

Of course, Viktor was the most popular out of the group. He hunted with a certain flair that none of the other's could achieve and he was damn good at it. Cheerily happy one moment and eerily pissed off the next, Viktor was considered a 'ticking time bomb' by any demon unfortunate enough to cross his path. He'd been in hunting since he was a child when Yakov took him in and trained him and the years of experience showed.

Still, Viktor felt that he was starting to lose his touch with each day that went by without Yuuri with him. In the months after Yuuri's death, Viktor had been so absorbed in finding the last handful of ones that escaped that he hadn't really been focusing on any other aspects of hunting. Naturally, that got his family worried about him, but Viktor was adamant in the fact that he was fine, and they didn't need to worry.

Viktor took the driver's side, not trusting Yuri's driving in the slightest, and started up the vehicle after snatching the keys from Yuri's pocket. The 'Ice Tiger' shouted in anger, but ultimately accepted the fate of not being able to drive, and resorted to sulking in the passenger seat. Viktor laughed heartily at Yuri's reaction, but the sound was much hollower than it used to be, and soon a cloud of sadness and tension made its way into the car.

A few moments later and Viktor was pulling into the home that he was sharing with everyone else. After Yuuri's death, Viktor had sold their home, and moved back with his family. Being around the place that he had shared with his fiance for so long was something that he couldn't handle and he had a feeling that his family felt the same way about it.

He got out of the car, shutting the door, and waltzing in through the front of the home. He slid his shoes off, kicking them haphazardly to the side, which earned him so well thought out cursing from Yuri who bent down to fix it. Viktor smiled to himself, slipping away from the young teen, and making his way upstairs to go to Yakov's office. He wondered vaguely what it was that Yakov wanted to talk to him about, but he figured it must be important if he was sending Yuri to fetch him.

With a quick rap of his knuckles, he knocked, and then twisted the door handle so that he could peek in through the door, “Yuri said that you had something to talk to me about Yakov. Is it really so important that you have to interrupt my work out?” the work out bit was only a slight lie. He really had been running that morning, but he hadn't been doing much else besides sitting on the floor of a warehouse since then.

“Be quiet Vitya and come sit down,” Yakov snapped, voice rough and commanding as usual. He'd had to learn strictness over the years. Allow to much wiggle room and your charges wound up dead. Yakov had seen one to many of his hunters getting killed because he hadn't been forceful enough with their training. Viktor knew that that weight still pressed down on the older man's shoulders to that day.

Casually, he walked inside, making sure to close the door behind him, and took a seat in the chair across from Yakov's desk. He crossed his legs, leaning back, and making himself as comfortable as he dared. Yakov stared him down, but Viktor didn't react to the gaze, and just busied himself with pushing his hair out of his face.

“Viktor,” Yakov began, leaning forward, and meeting Viktor's eyes, “You've been to distracted these past few months. I know what he meant to you,” that made him flinch and the eye contact was broken as Viktor looked away, his jaw becoming more defined as he clenched his teeth, “But that doesn't mean that you can neglect your duties,” the old man sat back, clasping his hands together.

“Mila has found a couple of foreign demons entering the country. We want you to take them out before they create a larger hive,” Yakov's face softened for a moment and he sighed, “It's an easy job Vitya. Maybe it will help you take your mind off of things to do it,” he prompted, waiting for any sign of reaction from his protege.

Viktor was quiet for a moment, looking over Yakov before he gave a curt nod, “I'll look into it. Does Mila have more information?” he asked, tone becoming much more cordial as he spoke with Yakov. It was always like that when they were discussing business though and Viktor should have figured that he'd be expected to start pulling weight again since he was living with the group.

Yakov nodded, “Go find her and get all the information that you need. You don't have to rush this Viktor, but if you get done and want another assignment then we have plenty,” he reminded him, looking over his face before waving a dismissive hand towards him, “Now get out. I have other things to do besides hold your hand.”

“Of course,” the taunt brought a wry smile to Viktor's lips and he stood from his seat. He went to the door, pausing as he gripped the handle, “Yakov?” he glanced back over his shoulder, seeing a large raised eyebrow waiting for him, “Thank you.”

He left without waiting for a response, regretting the decision since he had no idea where Mila was. He went downstairs, glad to see Yuri in the kitchen, eating a sandwich, and watching some video on his phone. Viktor walked around the counter, leaning forward, and waiting for Yuri to lower the phone. Finally, he did, and huffed out in annoyance, “What do you want, Viktor?”

“You finally noticed me,” he teased, wiggling on his elbows a little, “I just have a small question to ask Yuri and then you can go back to watching your videos. Do you know where Mila is? I'm supposed to pick up an assignment from her and that's rather difficult to do when you can't find the person.”

Yuri rolled his eyes, setting down his phone, and the sandwich, “Why the hell should I know where the hag is? Have you bothered to check her room or are you just coming down here to bug me? Do your own detective work, _Vitya_ ,” he spoke his nickname in a mocking tone, grumbling, and picking his food and phone back up, “I'm not your dog.”

“No, but you are a precious kitten,” Viktor reached out, pinching his cheek before Yuri could react, and then darting out of the kitchen. He could hear Yuri's shouts of fury echoing through the home in rapid-fire Russian and he chuckled to himself as he went back upstairs to see if Mila was in her bedroom.

As if on cue, the fiery red-head looked out from her door, and grinned at Viktor, “Vitya! Was it you who set off the kitten? I haven't heard him scream like that since I fed him nothing but cream for breakfast for a week.”

“Mila, just who I wanted to see,” inwardly, he groaned. Mila was a decent enough person, but Viktor preferred not to spend to much time around her. Viktor was relatively free with touches and the like, but Mila took that to a whole new level, “Yakov said you had information for me on the foreign demons that came here.”

“Of course, of course. Hold on,” she went back into her room, leaving Viktor to stand in the sparsely decorated hallways on his own. He slid one hand into his pocket, leaving the other resting on his hip so that he could take whatever papers Mila flung at him without having to fight to get his hands out of his pockets, “Here you go!” she pranced out of the room, pressing the papers flat to his chest until Viktor brought his own hand up to grab it.

“Thank you Mila,” he ducked his head, smiling at her, and turning to walk away. Mila said nothing else, for that Viktor was grateful, and he went into his room without another word. He sank down onto the edge of his bed, getting the papers into better order, and reading over them lazily. There wasn't much, just an address, and some blurry pictures, but Viktor could make out the tell-tale shape of their ears even with the fuzziness.

There were three in total and it looks as though Mila had managed to hack into some traffic cameras to get this information. He couldn't tell much from the grainy image, but he figured he would be able to recognize them if he tried hard enough. They had traveled to a run down apartment building, but Viktor would have to locate the room and floor that they were on. It didn't seem to difficult. Sucking in a breath, he memorized the information that he needed, and shredded the papers.

It would be a few hours before he left, so he decided to take a well-deserved nap, and crashed on his bed until the sun dipped below the horizon. Viktor didn't know why he always went for hunts in the dark, daytime hunts were perfectly plausible and almost smarter since demons were way more active at night, but maybe he preferred that. He had always enjoyed a challenge whenever he went on a hunt and he hoped that these three demons would be enough to pull some adrenaline out of him.

He prepped for the night, pulling on his holsters, and his coat. His boots were laced up tightly and he combed through his hair to make sure that he looked his best. For a moment, Viktor simply stood, and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He wasn't awful looking, but it was obvious that he was exhausted, and stressed. He frowned, rubbing at his forehead, and swearing that he could see the faintest sign of a wrinkle forming. Dammit.

Shaking his head, he moved away from the reflective object, and left the bedroom. A familiar trip down the stairs brought him to the front door and, not bothering to say good-bye, he left. The apartment was close enough to walk, so he bypassed the car, and began making his way down the sidewalk and into the heart of St. Petersburg.

The walk was uneventful, so he was happy to see the apartment building rising up in the distance. It wasn't exceedingly large, so Viktor figured it would be easy enough to find his targets. Rather than busting in, guns blazing, however, he set up camp across the street, and watched the front doors for any signs of the trio of demons. He knew to look for one with long hair, one with darker skin, but the last one had been almost purely black against the background of the building. All Viktor knew was that his hair was short enough to expose his ears.

It took about an hour before Viktor's efforts paid off and he smirked to himself as he reached down to grab one of his weapons. He nearly had the gun out before a familiar laugh hit his ears and he froze, looking across the street to see...

“Yuuri...”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I churned this out a lot faster than I thought I would lmao  
> Anyways have some angsty Viktor and enjoy~  
> (Again, not beta'd. Please forgive mistakes, I'm doing my best)


	3. Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri finally gets to try his hand at his self control and, once it goes well, he goes to celebrate with Phichit and Celestino. Things take a turn for the worse and Yuuri reminisces about happier times.

It had been a few months since Yuuri had gone through the change and he was actually starting to accept the reality of his situation. Unfortunately, he hadn't had time to work on his cure for his demonic state since Celestino and Phichit were constantly hounding and working with him on his self control. After all, trying to hunt down a cure wouldn't exactly work if he wound up going crazy with blood lust and drawing out every hunter in the area. He was grateful for their help, but it got a little stifling at times.

He put up with it and endured though. He stayed in the apartment that the group was renting for the most part and refrained from breaking into the fridge where they kept a bunch of blood bags so that Yuuri didn't attack and kill humans. From what Yuuri heard, fresh blood tasted a lot better, but he had to wait for a while before he could try drinking from an actual person. He felt uncomfortable about the whole ordeal, almost wanting to beg to be allowed to just stick with the bagged stuff, but they couldn't keep stealing from the blood bank forever or the hunters would get suspicious and start tracing it back to them. Phichit and Celestino had just been forced to run from America and Yuuri didn't want to be the reason that they had to flee from Russia.

After three months of working with the other two, Yuuri was deemed ready to go into public with Phichit and Celestino watching over him so that he could feed without killing someone. He felt flutters of anxiety in his gut as they left, but he kept it under control. He did have to present a completely different persona so that he didn't get found out. Then again, he wasn't sure that slicking his hair back, forgoing his glasses, and feigning confidence was enough, but he didn't worry about it to much. It had been three months after all and there had been no signs of trouble.

Of course, he hadn't been out that much, but he still took late night walks with Phichit and Celestino on occasion. It was nice, but he found that he was constantly hyper aware of his surroundings, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why; he was keeping an eye out for Viktor. He was absolutely terrified that Viktor would wind up finding out about him and Yuuri didn't want to risk that happening. There had been no sign of his fiance, however, and he managed to push the nasty feeling into the back of his mind. It was still there, but it was a lot easier to ignore, and he was able to relax a little so that he could enjoy the outdoors.

Celestino and Phichit had seemed surprised at how quickly he adapted to restraining himself, but he assumed that it was because he had been a hunter. He was reluctant to do anything that he'd associated with demons and that included drinking blood. But, if he ever wanted a chance to be with Viktor again, he had to keep from starving himself into a blood lust, and that was enough to convince him that feeding was the better route.

As they walked through the slowly emptying streets, Yuuri couldn't help but let his eyes wander. There wasn't really anyone else around and he let out a soft sigh of relief before scurrying to catch up with Celestino and Phichit. The two were absorbed in finding a good place and person for Yuuri to feed from and he started to feel sick just thinking about it. It was a necessary evil, but it didn't mean that Yuuri had to like it. It made him feel disgusting and lower than dirt to think that he had to drag someone somewhere secluded so that he could take some of their blood in order to ensure his survival.

“Here,” Celestino decided, stopping by a thin alleyway that was a bit out of the way, “The next person that passes will be the one,” he said, with a sense of finality in his voice. Yuuri nodded, not really caring, though he wished that they could have just walked for a little longer. The worry in his gut clenched and rolled as he panicked over whether or not he would be able to keep himself under control. Sure, he'd done well up to that point, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't snap, and that was what concerned him the most.

The small group waited patiently until footsteps began echoing as someone walked past the front of the alley. Yuuri worked quickly, slapping a hand over the person's mouth, and dragging them into the darkness. He made quick work of biting onto the human's neck and his mind instinctively clamped his jaw down harder as actual blood began to flow into his body. He inhaled sharply, then realization hit him in the face like a speeding train whizzing past on the railroad.

He let go of the person, struggling to keep from licking the last of the blood off of his teeth, and gently lowered them to the ground. Part of him still felt awful, but it had to be done, and Yuuri had to admit that he felt a lot better after drinking from them. It was though he'd unlocked a whole new range of senses and abilities, but Yuuri wasn't sure if he liked the cost enough to want to keep them. Sure, stealing from the blood bank could draw unwanted attention, but he didn't want to do that again. He _never_ wanted to do that again.

“Wow Yuuri,” Phichit's voice snapped him out of it and Yuuri turned his head to look at him, “You did really good for your first time! Celestino had to pry me off of the dude that I tried to drink from. It was kind of embarrassing, but we didn't have to do anything for you,” he laughed, clapping a hand on Yuuri's shoulder, and leaning lightly on it.

“He's right Yuuri,” Celestino stepped forward, beaming, and looking proud, “I've never seen someone grow accustomed to restraint so easily, but I think your history explains it. Still, since you're obviously able to keep from killing a human when you feed, you're more than welcome to go off on your own. Or you can continue to stay with us if you'd like.”

In all truth, he hadn't considered what he would do after all of it was done and over with. He'd assumed that he'd have a lot more time to practice and wait, but, apparently, he'd done well enough. Yuuri hesitated, worrying his lip between his teeth, and then meet Celestino's gaze, “I'll stay with you until I have enough money to get out on my own.”

“If that's what you want Yuuri. You don't have to rush,” Celestino promised and Yuuri began to get the distinct feeling that the older demon didn't want him to leave. Normally, Yuuri would have been okay with staying Celestino and Phichit, but he knew that he would likely be traveling a lot and Yuuri didn't want to have to drag them with him. Their presence was nice and Yuuri appreciated everything that they had done to help him through his transformation, but leaving was the best option. So, he nodded, and Celestino smiled softly before it broke into a beaming grin, “How about we go celebrate Yuuri's success? There's a bar close by that we can go to.”

Phichit looked at Yuuri, his excitement at the prospect dimming briefly as he looked at him with concern, “Do you want to do that Yuuri? You seem kind of tired,” he noted and Yuuri was glad he had a friend that was willing to help him make excuses to get out of his anxiety inducing situations. Phichit really was a good person and Yuuri felt a twinge a guilt as he reflected back on the horrific past that he'd had with other demons. He wondered how many were like Phichit, how many were really kind and sweet behind a mask that was deemed horrible and sinful...

“I'm okay Phichit, a bar actually sounds nice right now,” Yuuri forced himself to smile, figuring a few drinks would do him some good. He wasn't a lightweight by any means, so a few sips of whatever they got would be alright, and he could do with a little distraction. He was a turmoil of emotions as he glanced at the unconscious person who was slumped on the ground. They looked like a sleeping homeless person and Yuuri turned his gaze away with an inward flinch before leaving the alley with Celestino and Phichit.

True to Celestino's claim, the bar was only a few blocks away, and the three demons entered without much of a problem. Yuuri inhaled as they entered and the smell of booze and sweat with a faint undertone of air freshener greeted him. The building wasn't packed by any means, but there were a decent amount of people there. Yuuri ignored them in favor of sitting at a barstool next to Phichit and ordering a drink in butchered Russian.

Speaking the language brought a sad twinge of a smile to his face. Viktor had been trying to teach him Russian for a while, since they were planning on staying in St. Petersburg, and Yuuri had done the same for him with Japanese since Viktor insisted that they both could increase their language capacity. Unfortunately, Yuuri was an awful student, and hadn't retained much of their lessons, but Viktor had gotten the hang of Japanese pretty easily (Yuuri had later found that Viktor was using a program to better his Japanese). He missed those days terribly and he prayed and hoped that he wouldn't have to for much longer.

He raised the glass to his lips once it was set down in front him, downing it without much care, and requesting another one. Celestino was footing the bill and the demon had plenty of money since he'd been able to save for several decades. Yuuri was only slightly anxious about abusing that, but he couldn't bring himself to care about the alcohol, and he eagerly accepted the next drink that was passed to him. Of course, he was careful, and paced himself so that he didn't wind up getting completely wasted, but he felt a little better after a few more sips.

Still, his nerves felt anxious, and Yuuri couldn't figure out why. The bar itself was calm and relaxed. A buzz of talking and activity filled the room, but none of it was violent. If anything, the bar was totally tranquil, but that didn't stop the hairs on the back of his neck from standing on end. Something was off, he just couldn't figure out what it was...either that or he was just being paranoid. He wanted to go with the latter, but the clenching in his gut had him second-guessing that conclusion.

Phichit and Celestino seemed oblivious to it, so Yuuri was able to push the gnawing feeling to the back of his mind. He joined in on their drunken laughter, slowly relaxing, and enjoying himself as he let his barriers down and slipped back into being himself. He hated the persona that he put off, even though it was sort of thrilling to feign confidence, and it was nice to drop it for a little while. Though, to be fair, he likely should have kept it up just in case, but Yuuri didn't feel that he was going to be running into Viktor or anyone else, and, on top of that, he just couldn't bring himself to care.

Of course, that meant that he didn't notice the piercing gaze of someone sitting in a secluded booth in the back, and he didn't pay attention as they grabbed their phone, and spoke softly into the speaker. He didn't see them get up, didn't see the tell-tale flash of red hair, and brushed off the soft clanking as a piece of jewelry rather than the set of guns and knives that it was.

 

*******

**========================================================================**

*******

 

The rest of the night passed uneventfully and, after a few hours, the group left the building. They made their way down the sidewalk, heading for home, and Phichit and Celestino began bellowing out laughter with little to no care for who heard them. No one really gave them a second glance, which Yuuri was grateful for as he corralled the other two to keep them from rushing into the precarious traffic of Russia's roads. Celestino had his arm slung around both boys, keeping them close, and also using them as a prop so that he didn't wind up falling over. He'd had far more to drink than Yuuri or Phichit and the Thai demon had no qualms with pointing that out with every chance that he could.

“Celestino, remind me next time to limit how much you can have to drink!” Phichit laughed, teasing the older demon lightly, and jabbing the man in the side with his elbow. Celestino mumbled out a response, but neither of the other two could make out what he was saying, and they just exchanged glances before bursting into simultaneous laughter. It was nice to have things so aloof and carefree for once. Relief was a welcomed feeling and, for the first time in a while, Yuuri found that he was genuinely enjoying himself.

Not that he hadn't appreciated Phichit and Celestino's company before, but things had felt somewhat strained and awkward for a long period of time. Yuuri carried a personal guilt from his hunting days and he felt like a free-loader since he was relying on the two of them for everything from a place to stay to food to training so that he didn't wind up becoming a killer. Phichit and Celestino had seemed to be trying to make Yuuri as comfortable as possible, but the youngest of the group couldn't let go of the past. Still, Phichit had wedged his way into Yuuri's small list of friends, and Celestino had stepped in as a guiding figure who kept his distance, but Yuuri knew he could trust.

As though shooting through a thin sheet of glass, everything suddenly came crashing down as Phichit screamed, and Celestino and Yuuri tumbled to the ground as the support beam was yanked away. Panic shot through Yuuri and he scrambled to get back to his feet, but something whacked into the back of his head, and he fell back to the ground with a groan. Surprisingly enough, he felt as though he were recovering quickly, but he remained where he was while he tried to formulate a plan and to locate his friends. Celestino was on the ground next to him, but Yuuri couldn't see Phichit from where he was, but he could hear his shaky breathing from somewhere to his left.

He tensed, then shot up, and ran toward the person who was pressing a gun to Phichit's head. Yuuri managed to take the hunter by surprise and he heard a snap as he broke the wrist holding the gun before kicking the human's gut inward. He looked to make sure that Phichit was okay, but then his feet were falling out from under him, and he shouted as he fell to the ground once more. Initially, he went to get back up, but a barrel of a gun was aimed at his head, and he stared up at the owner before inhaling sharply as he recognized the face.

“Y-Yuri,” he gaped, frozen where he was as he took in the sight of the panting blond. He cradled his right hand to his chest, pressing the gun to Yuuri's head with left, and glaring at him with piercing green eyes. The teen's hair was pulled back into a tight bun, but a few pieces had fallen loose in all of the skirmishing, and Yuuri realized with a pang that it was his fault that Yuri's wrist was bent awkwardly against his chest. He had just been trying to help Phichit...he hadn't been paying attention to who was holding the gun. He should have figured that someone from Viktor's hunting group would find him eventually and it seemed as though the three demons had drawn out everyone.

Georgi had a blessed knife to Phichit's throat and the Thai demon had his eyes clenched shut in a grimace as it threateningly burned at his skin. Celestino was still on the ground, but he had Mila on his back, her own weapon pressed against him. Yuuri couldn't see her face since it was hidden by her chin-length hair, but he could feel Georgi's eyes on him, and he had a feeling that Mila was purposely avoiding his gaze. He had known all of them for years and he was utterly devastated that it seemed like they were going to be the one's that had killed him.

Maybe that was for the best. This way Viktor would never know that Yuuri had been turned into a demon. He had no doubt that the three other's would go to every length that they could to keep his being a demon a secret from Viktor. His fiance would have been so torn if he knew what had happened, what he hadn't been able to prevent, and Yuuri wanted to spare him that pain. Of course, if he had been able to find a cure, then he would have told him, but they could have gotten through it then. Now, Yuuri didn't even have to worry about it.

“Don't try to act innocent, _demon_ ,” Yuri spat out the words and Yuuri was shaken by the harshness of them. Yuri always sounded angry, but usually he was just spewing empty threats. This was pure hatred that sent chills and sorrow through the very core of Yuuri's being. He shouldn't have been surprised, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of betrayal at Yuri acting as though Yuuri was nothing more than a spider to be squashed under his shoe, “You may have corrupted his body, but you're not the damn pig.”

“I-” he couldn't finish speaking as the gun was suddenly smacked across his face. He heard Phichit shout, but that was cut off, and Yuuri could only assume that Georgi's knife was pressing a lot harder to the boy's throat. His cheek throbbed and he was sure that there would be an angry bruise if it got the chance to form, but that possibility was shrinking with every passing second. He gasped for breath, the shock of the hit stunning him still for a moment until he could compose himself, “Yuri, _please_ -”

“Shut up!” this time it was a kick to his side and Yuuri fell to the ground, curled in on himself. He hated feeling so pathetic and looked down on, but he couldn't really blame Yuri. The teen thought that Yuuri was dead, thought that Yuuri had been possessed by a dark creature with a thirst for blood, and he thought that he was doing the demon a favor by killing him off. But Yuuri was still _Yuuri_. He wasn't a monster, he hadn't lost his morality, but he couldn't argue his point.

He didn't see the gun, but he knew that it was trained at his temple. He knew that Yuri's finger was hovering over the trigger and he knew that the inevitable shot was coming. Soon, he'd be nothing more than dust. He didn't know what would happen once he died. Would he go to hell? Was there even a soul left in him to go _anywhere_ or would he simply cease to exist?

The questions terrified him for a split second, but then a serene calm washed over him. Whatever happened, at least Viktor had never found out. He could die peacefully knowing that much and he closed his eyes, breathing softly, and relaxing the hold that his arms had around himself. Things seemed to slow and he braced himself for the sound of the gun going off, which would signal the final seconds of his life.

He jumped when the gun went off, silenced a little, but still loud enough for him to hear. Even more shocking was the realization that the bullet hadn't hit him. Instead, it had been shot across the street, and bullet bounced off of a wall before rolling off somewhere else. Yuuri wasn't sure if they were playing some sort of sick trick on him and he didn't dare to open his eyes until a few awkward, tense seconds ticked past.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, and looked to Yuri for an explanation. His stomach dropped as his eyes jumped from green to bright blue and, for the first time since his 'death', he looked at Viktor. The older hunter had a death grip on Yuri's wrist, keeping the gun aimed straight ahead rather than at Yuuri, and they were glaring daggers at each other. Yuri was total fury, but Viktor's was controlled. Yuuri could tell from the shake in his grip that Viktor was angry though and he wanted to flee, but he was frozen to the spot.

“Viktor...” he breathed out the name, tears starting to prick at his eyes as he caught the attention of his fiance. Viktor and Yuri both looked at him at the same time and he flinched under their gaze. He tore his eyes away from Viktor, trying to calm the increased beating of his heart as he heard heavy boots approaching him.

Nothing happened for a second, then Yuuri made a sound of pain as a large hand fisted into his hair, and dragged him up until his knees were just barely lifted off of the ground. He gripped Viktor's wrist, gritting his teeth to bite back anymore unwanted noises, and tried to find less awkward purchase on the ground. Viktor kept him where he was though, his own jaw tense as he stared at Yuuri with a gaze that held no love in it, “Don't dare to use his voice, _beast_.”

Any hope that Yuuri had had for Viktor rescuing dropped and splattered and he did his best to shake his head, “Please, Viktor. I-It's not what you think! I'm still me, I-” he heard a growl of anger and then Viktor had him shoved up against a wall of the ally. His forearm dug into Yuuri's throat and he choked, feet dangling off of the ground as Viktor was the only thing keeping him from getting there, “V-Viktor...”

“Why didn't you just let me kill it Viktor?” Yuri huffed, watching from the side, and crossing his arms over his chest, “You weren't even supposed to be here for this. I thought Yakov took you off of the assignment as soon as he found out why you were stalling. We had it under control you stupid, grieving-”

“Yuri,” Viktor's voice was cool and calm, but it was forced. There was a slightly unnerving edge to it that even got Yuri to shut up, “If anyone's going to end this one it's going to be me. They took him from me, I won't let them torment me with his face anymore. I thought that maybe he was...” he stopped himself, shaking his head, “I've been tailing them all night and I know that I should have done this as soon as I saw him.”

What? When had Viktor seen him? Yuuri had been so careful. He'd changed the way he looked, the way he acted, his routes, where he shopped, where he went... _everything_. He'd done everything that he could to stay away from Viktor so that this very thing didn't happen. He was confused, scared, and running on limited air which only served to fuel his panic further, but no one else seemed to care about that.

There was another tense silence before Yuri flipped some of his hair out of his face and scoffed, “Fine, but you'd better finish it Viktor. If you don't, I will,” the threat was left hanging in the air before Yuri turned on heel and nodded towards Georgi and Mila. Yuuri saw the two of them tense and he knew what was about to happen.

“No!” he shouted, a few tears starting to drip onto his cheeks, “No, don't hurt them! They haven't done anything, please-!” he choked as Viktor applied more pressure to his throat and he heard Phichit sob brokenly as the seeming imminence of his death was stopped and held back by a fragile string. Yuuri swung his feet, kicking at Viktor, and trying desperately to break away from his hold so that he could get to Celestino and Phichit, “P-Please n-n-not them!” he managed to force the words out, but they were barely above a wheeze.

Time stopped and Viktor's hold on his neck lessened for a second. Yuuri dared to hope that Viktor had come to realize the truth, but that flame was doused as Viktor shook his head, “Kill them,” and just like that a gun went off and Yuuri clenched his eyes shut as he heard Phichit's brief gargling before everything became quiet once more.

He didn't dare to look, turning his head to the side as well as he could as a sob broke through him. The same fate was waiting for him and he suddenly felt a burning hatred towards Viktor for not believing him. He clung to that, the anger and fury feeling much better than the agony of grief at losing two people who he had just come to know and care for. Suddenly, losing Viktor didn't seem to compare, and he was tempted to try to kill the man then and there.

Before that idea could settle, he snapped out of it, and refused to give it a second thought. No. He wouldn't kill, he refused to. He wouldn't become the thing that Viktor thought he had, but he would make damn sure that Viktor knew who the real monster was, and it wasn't Yuuri.

With an abundance of strength, he shoved Viktor off of him, and dropped to his feet. He rubbed his throat, gasping for air, and quickly darting back from the four hunters that had moved to cut off his exit, “Why? Why would you kill them? They didn't do _anything_! They didn't kill, they helped me so that I wouldn't either. They kept me safe, they...they...” he choked on his grief, clutching at his shoulder with one hand, and at his waist with the other, “They didn't deserve to _die_ you sick _fucks_!”

All of them seemed startled, but the shock quickly turned to anger, and Yuri began to step forward until Viktor's arm shot out to stop him, “Go home. All of you. I'll handle this.” His words were heavy, but dangerous. Pure anger kept Yuuri from drawing back, however, and he just straightened up more and stared Viktor down with a look he never thought he could give the other man.

“Viktor-” Yuri started, but one look from Viktor had him shutting up. The teen hesitated, then recollected himself, and shoved Viktor's arm away before turning away, “Let's go,” he muttered, waving for Mila and Georgi to follow after him. Yuuri and Viktor remained standing in the ally until the other three had cleared away and then they stared each other down for a moment until Viktor reached into his jacket and pulled out a pistol, aiming it directly for Yuuri's heart.

Yuuri kept their gazes locked and, rather than recoiling, walked forward until the barrel was mere inches away from his chest, “Go on then Viktor, kill me. You don't have to hold me while I bleed out and if you dare to say that you love me then I will come back _again_ to haunt you until _you_ die.” He spat the words viciously and he meant them, but only in that moment as he directed his anger towards Viktor.

“Don't-” Viktor started, then stopped, and took a deep breath as though trying to keep himself calm, “Don't you dare use his past to get at me like that. I did love him, but you are not my Yuuri. My Yuuri would never attack someone and leave them for dead. He wouldn't try to defend two _monsters_ who have killed countless people since they got here.”

Yuuri clenched his fists at his sides, snapping, and shouting at him, “They didn't kill anyone! We fed off of blood bags and I didn't leave anyone for dead. I stopped before they died, they were just unconscious,” he tried to get himself to relax, finally lowering his voice so that he was no longer yelling, “You actually thought that I was killing people? Viktor, I've been trying to keep myself under control so that I _didn't_ do that. I didn't want to become the monster that we hunted. I wanted to find a cure so that I could be with you,” he was starting to get emotional again, eyes watering, and dripping onto his eyelashes, “But I don't think I want that anymore. I'd rather keep being a demon, because _you're_ the bad guy here Viktor.”

That got a response from the other man, his eyes widening in shock before narrowing back down again, “Yuuri wouldn't say something like that. You can stop pretending to be him already. You're not convincing me to not kill you just because you twist the situation and try to make me feel bad for this. I'll kill you and give Yuuri a proper burial with your ashes you rotten, fiendish devil spawn.”

He swallowed, taking another step forward, and leaning into the gun, “Then do it Viktor. Christen our wedding night and make it official,” he kept his voice low, but spite was evident, and he watched Viktor stiffen at the mention of their wedding day.

It had been nagging at him all day, maybe it was why he'd been so tense, but it was the date that he and Viktor had picked to get married on. They were supposed to be in Japan, getting married under the cherry blossoms, and then retiring for the first night of their union at Yutopia. After that, they were scheduled to go to Barcelona, the site of their engagement, for their honeymoon. Everything had been planned, there were just minor details and invitations to send out in the months after those arrangements had been made. Of course, it had been called off, and Yuuri wondered what Viktor had told his parents to cover up his death.

He held his breath for a second, cracking, and dropping his eyes, “Before you kill me, I want you to know that I do love you. I never meant to do this to you and if there was a way that I could change things and make them go back to the way they were I _would_ , but I can't, and I'm never going to have the chance to. So...I love you Viktor. I'm sorry.”

He repeated the phrase once more in Japanese, but it was softly spoken, and even he could barely hear it. Nothing happened and when Yuuri opened his eyes, the gun was hanging limply at Viktor's side, and the man was hunched over with a hand over his mouth. Yuuri thought he was laughing, but then he saw the drips of tears falling to the ground, and instinct brought him forward until he could bring Viktor in for a hug. He pressed Viktor's face into the crook of his neck, one hand pressing his fingers through the other's hair, and the other wrapping firmly around his back to keep him close.

“I couldn't save you Yuuri,” the words were muffled, but Yuuri tensed as he heard them, “I didn't get there in time and you died. They made you into this and it's my fault,” the shaking sobs had ceased, but Yuuri knew that Viktor was still upset, “I should be the one that's sorry, not you.”

Yuuri sighed softly, looking over Viktor's shoulder, and flinching at the sight of the dust piles, “You're right, but only a little, Viktor. You shouldn't be sorry that you couldn't save me, that couldn't be helped, but you can be sorry for killing my friends, and you can be sorry for yourself when I'm gone,” he pulled away from Viktor, the other man's arms dropping to his side as he looked up with a confused look on his face, “If you aren't going to kill me then I'm going to leave Viktor. I can't stay here anymore and I can't be around you. Not after this,” he gestured to the remains of his friends, then looked at Viktor pitifully.

“But...I thought you loved me...” Viktor croaked out the words, not seemed to understand. Yuuri smiled softly, stepping forward, and pressing one last kiss to his ex-fiance's lips. He worked the engagement ring off of his finger as he did that, sliding it into Viktor's pocket, and breaking the kiss so that he could look him in the eye.

“I do,” and with that, he sped away quicker than Viktor's eyes could pick up on. He had to do it fast or he would never be able to pull away, but he knew that it was for the best. After that fiasco, he couldn't trust the other man, and he had no intentions of doing everything he could to be with him if Viktor was just going to point a gun at him as soon as he saw him. If Viktor wouldn't trust him then Yuuri would leave and Viktor could pretend that Yuuri had burned to a crisp in the warehouse as a human.

He didn't have a goal in mind anymore. Working to become human again seemed pointless since he no longer had Viktor to return too and he may as well enjoy eternity. He didn't have close ties, so there was nothing to sever, and everyone but Viktor thought that they knew he was dead or assumed that he would be. Of course, Yuuri didn't know if Viktor would admit that he had let the demon go, but he didn't really care. He knew he had to leave Russia, so that was what he intended on doing, and he figured the best way to do that was to see if he could leach a little money from Celestino's accounts so that he could get a plane ticket and some spare cash that could be used to tide him over until he had a job of his own.

Detroit seemed like the best option. He'd spent a few years there and he was sure that he could get a job bartending or something along those lines to make ends meet and he still had his temporary residency so getting back into the country wouldn't be all that difficult. Plus, it was between Russia and Japan, a perfect distance between him and anyone that could infringe on his unending life-span, but it still held a little bit of nostalgic happiness from days when everything revolved around Viktor.

Detroit had been their hunting ground for a while and they managed to actually get it back into a decent working order. Demons dispersed and Viktor and Yuuri managed to break down several crime rings that were centered around the evil that had clung to the streets. They left a lot of blood and dust in their wake, but they enjoyed each other's company regardless. Yuuri was glad to be under the wing of such a well-known hunter and Viktor was beginning to fall head-over-heels for the beautiful man that had saved his life and had begun to watch his back on missions.

Of course, Detroit wasn't the only place that they went, and nearly a year after their initial meeting, Yuuri and Viktor had found themselves in Barcelona, Spain. Viktor's old mentor, Yakov, had sent them some intel that told them about some demons there that were causing a lot of panic because they went public with their murders. Naturally, keeping demons a secret was a big deal, and, so, Yuuri and Viktor had packed their bags, and flew to Spain.

All of the murders seemed to have only one connection and it didn't take a detective to figure it out. So, Yuuri and Viktor easily posed as American terrorists, and went right to the center of where the activity had been going on. Yuuri thought that they were being to obvious, but Viktor had assured him that everything was under control, and that the demons were to stupid to realize that he and Viktor were actually hunters.

That was the second time that going with what Viktor said ended with him being captured. Viktor hadn't been paying attention and a couple of demons dragged him away before leaving him tied up in the bottom of an old church. Yuuri found that a little amusing, but he was slightly afraid, and pissed off at Viktor for letting it happen, _again_. Fortunately, the demons were scared of Viktor, so they didn't do anything to Yuuri but make leering threats that he rolled his eyes at, and all he had to do was wait.

Sure enough, a few hours later, Viktor had burst into the room, guns blazing, and Yuuri was left sneezing as dust particles settled in a pile on the floor, “I know you're forgetful Viktor, but I didn't think you'd forget about me,” he teased as the silver-haired man moved behind him and began undoing the ropes that held them behind his back. Relief flooded his arms as they were released and he rubbed at the indents on his wrists before looking back at Viktor, “We should make sure there aren't anymore here before we go.”

“Not to worry, _lubov moya_ , I've already taken care of everything. We are now, officially, on vacation,” Viktor walked in front of him, bringing Yuuri's knuckles to his lips to kiss them, “There's nothing left to worry about, I promise.” He straightened up, helping Yuuri to his feet, and hugging him, “I'm glad to see that you're okay. I was worried they would hurt you.”

“I think they were to scared of your reputation to try,” Yuuri smiled, returning the hug, and slowly pulling away so that they could leave the basement, “I can't believe you did all of it without me though. You couldn't have come to get me first? I could have helped,” he side-eyed Viktor who suddenly seemed very sheepsih, which made Yuuri very suspicious, and he kept his eye on him while waiting for him to break.

It took them getting to the top of the stairs before he confessed, “I'm sorry Yuuri, but I let them grab you. I thought you'd be at the first place that I went, but you weren't, and then you weren't at the next, but I did find you,” he reminded him as Yuuri stared at him in a mixture of shock and anger, “I promise Yuuri, I wouldn't have let anything happen to you. These demons recognized me and were going to use you as a bargaining method so they wouldn't have dared to lay a hand on you anyways-”

“Viktor, you were trying to play hero because I saved your life on our first mission,” he cut him off, deciding not to let him continue rambling on, “How could you? They weren't that scary, but that's not a fun position to be in, and if it could have been prevented then it should have been!” normally, they didn't fight past a small bit of bickering, but Yuuri was _livid_. Viktor's hero complex could have gotten one or both of them killed and that was terrifying for Yuuri to think about.

Viktor frowned a bit, taking Yuuri's hands, and shaking his head, “I'm sorry Yuuri, it won't happen again. I thought it would be a lot more romantic than it was...but I shouldn't have done it,” he quickly corrected himself as Yuuri's face went sour and he squeezed the other's hands tightly, “Let me make it up to you. How about dinner and then we can do some shopping? I've wanted to buy you a new suit since we went to that banquet, because the one that you have should be burned.”

“I like that suit!” Yuuri huffed, but he softened. He was a sucker, but he couldn't stay mad at Viktor, “But fine, I guess we should have a date while we're on vacation,” he was only teasing, although he really wasn't sure what his and Viktor's relationship was. He figured it was nothing more than a student-teacher sort of deal, but sometimes he just wasn't sure like that moment.

Viktor had beamed at the mention of a date and he let go of one of Yuuri's hands, but kept hold of the other so that they could exit the church like a giddy couple about to start their honeymoon. Yuuri had been surprised, but he'd followed along happily, and any tension from earlier was gone. Viktor just had that effect on him and he loved being able to relax and feel happy while around the other man. Sure, Viktor was the cause of anxiety sometimes, but he found ways to redeem himself whenever he could.

Dinner was simple, but nice, and Yuuri only ate bits and pieces while Viktor horked down as much as he could stomach. Viktor had the benefit of a quick working metabolism whereas Yuuri so much as looked at a pastry and he gained three pounds. He'd always had trouble with his weight, so he made sure to watch what he ate. Luckily, hunting gave him good exercise, and he was able to keep off most of the chub that he'd had for the majority of his life.

After dinner, they looked through the shops, and Yuuri let Viktor indulge himself on buying multiple things that he probably didn't need. But, Viktor had plenty of money, and Yuuri was more than happy to watch Viktor enjoy himself while running around the stores to look at various items. For the most part, Yuuri hung back, and held onto the bags. He let Viktor tire him out and, finally, they stopped to take a seat just outside of a large cathedral.

Viktor sipped thoughtfully at a red solo cup that had some wine in it as they sat close together on the bunch. Yuuri shivered a bit as the cold air of Barcelona dug through his coat and chilled him to the bone. Casually, Viktor pulled Yuuri closer until they were flush together, and Yuuri was more than happy to rest against Viktor's warmth. It was pleasant and Yuuri felt a warmth bubbling in him that he wasn't quite sure how to name, but he figured that love was as close as he was going to get.

“Yuuri,” Viktor's voice broke the silence and Yuuri sat up a bit so that he could look at Viktor, “I have something that I want to ask you, but I don't want you to panic,” he said, keeping his tone steady and calm, but Yuuri could sense a small bit of anxiousness underneath it all. That was odd, Viktor was rarely the one to get any sort of nerves, and Yuuri started to worry about what could be bothering him enough to make him nervous.

“O-okay, I won't,” Yuuri promised, confused, but hoping that whatever Viktor was going to ask wouldn't be anything to do with ending what they had going. Sure, Yuuri had had his doubts, and had almost call it quits a few times when he'd flubbed, but he needed Viktor nearby. He had come to depend on the other man for more than just being his hunting partner and he didn't want to lose that.

There was a brief moment of quiet before Viktor spoke again, “Do you love me?”

“Do I what,” Yuuri couldn't comprehend what Viktor had just asked him. The question had turned his brain to mush and that was all that he could force out. He couldn't tell if Viktor was being genuine when he laughed, but he felt slightly bashful about making him repeat the question.

“I said; do you love me?” he said the words again and Yuuri stared at him for a moment. _Of course_ , was the first thing that popped into his head, but he couldn't get his mouth to work, and he wound up gaping awkwardly before he cleared his throat and gathered himself together again. _Do I love him?_ He couldn't keep from asking himself the question, but the immediate distasteful feeling that he got when he thought that got him to realize that his initial inclination was correct.

Ever so slowly, he nodded, “I...yeah, I guess I do, but why are you asking me this now-” he trailed off as Viktor turned to face him more fully. One of his hands was in his pocket, the other was resting lightly on top of Yuuri's right hand, “Viktor?” he looked at the other, furrowing his eyebrows together, and trying to figure out what in the hell was going on.

“Yuuri, I...” Viktor stopped for a moment, breathed in, and then continued, “I love you. I have loved you for some time now. I never want to stop being with you, but I want to be more than just a mentor that you had for hunting,” another pause, “I want to stay with you for the rest of my life and I can only think of one way to do that.”

Yuuri couldn't help but gasp as Viktor pulled his hand out of his pocket. Wide eyes took in the sight of a box that Viktor popped open to reveal a smooth, golden ring. It glinted dully in the small bit of lighting that came off of the surrounding area and Yuuri looked away from it to see Viktor looking at him softly, “Will you marry me, Yuuri?”

“Yes,” the word came tumbling from his mouth and he beamed, flinging his arms around Viktor, and hugging him tightly, “Yes, yes, of course. _Yes_ ,” he felt exhilarated and _alive_. It was better than any amount of adrenaline and he felt ready to burst into tears of joy as Viktor slid the ring onto his finger. He didn't realize that he already had and he felt Viktor's hand come up to his cheek, cupping it gently, and then pulling him in for a tender kiss.

It was almost cinematic. A choir had just began to sing on the steps leading up to the cathedral, the night was clear and the moon and stars shone brightly down upon them. No one else existed at that point in time and Yuuri had never felt happier than he did at that moment. Everything was perfect and he could see no other future that he wanted to be in without Viktor at his side.

Well, that was how he had felt until more recent events. Of course, the Yuuri at that point in time would never have guessed that he would become a demon, and, if he had, he would have been repulsed, and insisted that Viktor kill him as quickly as possible. It was strange how much things had changed, but maybe it was for the best.

After all, Yuuri had never felt more free in his life.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M ALIVE. So sorry this took so long to get out, I've had so much stress with school and shit that I just haven't had the energy. BUT, I'm here, I'm still working on this, but updates may be few and far between depending on how things go.  
> ANYWAYS, I made myself cry when Phichit died. I didn't want to do it, but Celestino needed to die for other things to happen in the future, and unfortunately Phichit got caught in the cross-fire. I did warn you that there would be major character death in this one though soooo...  
> Also, I wanted to thank you guys for your lovely comments and all the kudos. I read them frequently and they warm my heart so much, you guys are the best <3 I'll try to update soon, but until then-enjoy!


	4. Travel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor decides to go looking for Yuuri in the only place that he can think of; Detroit. Meanwhile, Yuuri struggles to get settled into his new life, and fights with himself about what to do about Viktor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, some of you may have noticed that this has taken some time to be put out, but there's a good reason for that! I now have a lovely beta reader who has been doing an amazing job at going through my gargled mess of writing and correcting it for your reading pleasure :p Big shoutout to theawkwardgrape for their input on this chapter and future chapters too!   
> Also! If you guys want to talk with me or ask questions or anything you can shoot me message on tumblr! I'm thatonehomestuckchick15 and I always love to hear from you guys <3 Your comments give me life :)

“Vitya, why in God's name would you want to go back to Detroit? After everything that's happened, what would possess you to return _there_ of all places?” Viktor watched as Yakov's face crossed a wide barrier of emotions. Initially, he was furious, but then his face slid into a more somber expression, back to angry, and then resigned as though finally accepting that he wouldn't be able to change Viktor's mind about the situation. That got a small smile ghosting across Viktor's lips, but it was dismissed quickly enough. Instead, he sat forward, dug his elbows into his knees, clasped his hands, and pressed his lips to his knuckles as he went over his explanation once more in his mind.

“I made a mistake by letting him... _it_ , get away. I'm going to make up for that Yakov. I thought that you could understand that much,” he finally spoke, lifting his head, and meeting his former mentor's eyes evenly, “Going on like this, as though he is actually dead...I can't do it anymore. Putting him down is the only way that I'm going to be able to sleep at night and I have a very strong feeling that he would go back somewhere that was familiar. Japan isn't an option, he could see his family there, and he obviously refused to be in Russia. Detroit is the only place that he's lived for an extended period of time.”

Yakov inhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose, and slumping back into his seat, “Viktor, you're a hunter, not a detective. This is madness. Let the American hunters handle it or just let it go. I know that you miss him Viktor, I know better than most how you feel, but chasing after him is not the way to go about this. Mourn your loss, move on, and get your ass back in action.”

Viktor scoffed, entwining his fingers, and smiling coldly at Yakov, “You say that like you're the boss of me, Yakov. I already have the plane tickets and I'm going whether you approve or not. If he isn't in Detroit, I'll come back here, and I'll forget all about it, yes?”

There was a stretch of silence before Yakov nodded, a grim frown wrinkling his features as he examined Viktor, “Very well, but you at least need a time constraint. I'll give it two weeks at most to find out if he's there. If he isn't, you book the next flight back, and come home Vitya. You're missed more than you realize and this distance isn't good for anybody. You've got to get back to yourself or you're going to get sloppy. Well...sloppier than you already were.”

“Ah Yakov, but hasn't it been effective?” Viktor teased, a small smile coming across his face as he pushed himself up from the chair, “After all, I believe I've surpassed in kills by almost double, and I'm half your age.”

“Get out! Your hair went gray before mine!” the words echoed through the halls, soon followed by a door slamming, and a soft chuckle from Viktor, who had just been shoved from the room. Teasing Yakov could be entertaining, but it was a risky gamble sometimes. Still, Viktor had a feeling that Yakov was more than a little forgiving at the moment, given what had happened a few nights prior.

Seeing Yuuri, talking to him...it had been surreal. Viktor had told himself repeatedly that it wasn't Yuuri anymore, but the creature that had replaced him was so _convincing_ that he had fallen for the farce. His fiance, his husband to-be , was dead. He had a grave, there had been a procession, and all that was left to do was actually bury the body. Of course, that was easier said than done considering the fact that Viktor had allowed Yuuri to run away.

The last thing that the creature had said still echoed in the back of his mind, constantly taunting him with the simple two words that contrasted what _should_ have been said. Rather than standing under the alter in a confirmation of their love for each other, it was a dark alley-way and it was only said to distract Viktor from what he should have been doing. He hadn't stopped beating himself up about it since and he didn't plan on it until he found Yuuri and finished what he should have.

Again, easier said than done.

He still felt conflicted about the whole thing. On one hand, Yuuri had seemed so genuine, and Viktor couldn't help but feel slight pity for the demons that he had ordered to be killed. He'd heard of Celestino before, but they would have been killed anyways, and they were still demons. They still fed off of humans, they were still corrupt, and they were still the monsters that had taken the love of his life from him. Thinking about it that way made him feel better and he didn't regret the order quite so much, although Yuuri's bitter comment about _Viktor_ being the monster still stung.

Viktor wasn't the bad guy. He was the one trying to keep people safe from demons who tried to kill them or extort them or cause them harm. Demons were the ones that did evil things, they were the ones that killed his parents, that killed his Yuuri...they always seemed to show up right as things were going good to take the things that he cared about the most. Hunting for him was a significant part of his life and he'd been obsessed until he met Yuuri, but, now that he was gone, the flame of passion for the area of work only flared up higher than it ever had.

He furrowed his eyebrows together as he thought things over, clasping his hands behind his back, and starting to walk down the hall towards his room. He got absorbed, not paying attention as he nearly ran over a Yuri who was stubbornly standing just outside the door to Viktor's room, “Oi. Viktor,” his voice snapped him out of it and he stopped, looking down to see that he was probably way to close for Yuri's comfort.

“What is it?” he asked, tilting his head to the side in curiosity. Yuri didn't often approach him unless Yakov told him to so having the teen standing outside his door was a little out of the ordinary. He wasn't complaining though, Yuri was good company, even if he was ornery half the time, and bitterly spewing profanity the other half.

“You shouldn't go after him-”

Viktor sighed, shaking his head, and holding up a hand, “I'm going. No one in this home is going to stop me so-” this time, it was Yuri's turn to cut him off as he shoved a hand over Viktor's mouth to shut him. His eyes were piercing as he glared at Viktor, seeming to glower through his very being, and Viktor blinked slowly in surprise at the abrupt movement. It wasn't entirely odd, but it was unexpected at very least.

“If you'd let me finish before you run your stupid mouth this wouldn't be a problem,” he spat. Slowly he removed his hand, and, once satisfied that Viktor was going to hold his tongue, he continued, “I was going to say that you shouldn't go alone. You're getting old and your dumbass tends to get into trouble, especially when it involves the pig's walking corpse. So, I'm going with you to make sure you don't get drained and ditched in a river by that thing.”

“Yuri...” he paused, waiting to see if Yuri had more things to say, but there was silence, so he pressed on, “I need to do this alone. This is between me and him...it...whatever,” he rubbed his forehead, suddenly feeling a slight throbbing in the front of his skull, “I'm not bringing you with me into this,” he said with an air of finality, looking Yuri directly in the eye.

“You will if I convince Yakov that you're to senile and incapable to do it on your own,” Yuri retorted, crossing his arms over his chest, and flicking his hair out of his eyes, “Besides, you can't stop me, and neither can anyone else here. Either you take me with you or I'll buy my own plane ticket and follow you. I don't trust you alone with that demon and you shouldn't even be the one going after him. You're emotionally compromised like the love-sick shithead that you are and if you don't have me there to smack some sense into you, you're going to get killed or worse.”

Viktor gave Yuri an amused smile, but, really, he was tired. He didn't want to argue with the teen, but he wasn't about to let him get in over his head. Then again, Yuri had proved himself on multiple occasions to be a capable hunter. Maybe it would be a good idea to have someone to back him up if he broke down upon seeing his fiance's face again. The thought pulled the smile from his face and he shifted his position, looking down at the blonde, and resting a hand lightly on the other's shoulder, “Are you sure that you want to come with me? I can't guarantee that we'll find him and I wouldn't want you to get bored while we're in America.”

The look of surprise that crossed Yuri's face was almost priceless, but Viktor couldn't really bring himself to find much amusement in it. Instead, he looked at Yuri seriously, and waited for a confirmation, “Of course I want to come with you. There's always demons around anyways, I'm sure I can entertain myself by turning a few monsters into piles of dust.”

“If you're going to come with just to hunt other demons then don't come,” Viktor said smoothly, dropping his hand, and turning toward the door to his bedroom, “The whole reason we're going is to find the thing possessing Yuuri's body, not to find exotic demons. Besides, if that's what you're looking for, then you're going to be very disappointed. American demons are just gross,” he twisted the doorknob, pushing the door in, and pausing when a hand clamped down tightly on his arm.

“You aren't going to get rid of me that easily, Viktor,” Yuri's voice dripped with poison, but Viktor knew that it was all just a pretense. Still, it was good to see Yuri reacting, and it was also good to know that he wasn't just taking the whole thing as a chance to go on vacation for a few days, “I'm coming with you, so add another ticket to your flight, and don't pull any sort of bullshit. No trying to go without me, you hear me?”

Viktor's lips curled upwards and he faced the interior of his bedroom as he casually brushed Yuri's hand off of his arm, “If you insist Yuri. We'll leave in a week. If we don't find anything by the end of two then we'll come back and things will go back to how they were before I met him,” he nearly choked on the words, awkwardly clearing his throat, and crossing the threshold to his bedroom, “Until then, go over your basic training, and make sure that Mila knows that you need your passport.”

“What happens if we do find him?” the question was hesitant, laced with masked worry as though Yuri was afraid to step on Viktor's toes by putting it out into the open. Viktor found it charming that Yuri was suddenly so worried about him and how he was handling everything, but he didn't want the younger to have any doubt in his mind that Viktor was ready to do what he needed to do.

“If we do find Yuuri in Detroit then we kill him, take the body to Japan, and give him a proper burial. After that, we'll come back, and move on...perhaps I'll still retire. I'm not sure that I can handle much more of this life. It's taken so much from me...” he whispered the last sentence, closing his eyes, and pushing back the tidal waves of grief that threatened to drown him. He felt ready to collapse, to burst into tears, and to scream and shout like a toddler until time itself bent to his will so that he could go back to save his precious love.

He wanted Yuuri back with all of his being. He would be willing to give up everything he had to get him back, but that wasn't an option, and it didn't seem as though his tantrums were making the universe budge in the slightest. There was nothing that he could feasibly do to get his fiance back in his arms. He couldn't twist the hands of the clock back so that he could make it in time and be able to see Yuuri in his suit as they stood at the alter. He would never get to get a marriage license, he would never get to wake up to Yuuri laying next to him as his husband, he would never get to grow old with Yuuri, he would never get to do anything that he had envisioned for his and Yuuri's future. In one split second of a bad decision, Viktor had ruined their entire future, and he would _never_ be able to repair that mistake.

“Viktor?” Yuri's voice broke through the haze that had settled over his mind and he blearily realized that tears had been slowly trickled down his nose and onto his shoes. A bitter laugh broke him and he slumped forward, hiding part of his face with the fringe of hair that hung in front of his face. There he'd been, trying to keep himself held together, and he'd wound up making everything worse by delving to deep into his own misery.

“Go find Mila,” was all he could bring himself to say before he shut the door on Yuri. He pressed his back to the faded wood, sliding down it, and sitting in a pathetic pile as flashes of torment passed through his mind; Yuuri holding a new puppy, Yuuri washing dishes, Yuuri cooking, Yuuri holding his hand as they went ice skating, Yuuri looking in amazement at something that Viktor didn't notice because the look on Yuuri's face was so full of wonder that everything else in the universe paled in comparison...

He stared through blurry eyes at the ceiling, inhaling deeply, and letting the breath out belatedly. He couldn't change what had happened, but he could correct at least one mistake that had become of it, and he could avenge Yuuri. Of course, killing his ex-fiance was easier said than done, and, suddenly, the left-hand pocket on his coat seemed that much heavier.

He reached inside of it, pulling out the golden ring, and held it up to the light. He squinted through the hole in the center, then curled his hand around it, and put it back into his pocket. At least the creature had done him the favor of returning the ring that Viktor had slid onto Yuuri's finger back in Spain. Viktor hated to think of the demon itself wearing the object that symbolized Viktor's desire to be with Yuuri for the rest of his life.

Regardless of the ring being returned, however, Viktor was still going to take advantage of his last chance to lay Yuuri's body to rest. No creature would be allowed to manipulate someone he cared about like that. He was going to make sure of it.

 

*******

**========================================================================**

*******

 

Landing in Detroit was nerve-wrecking, but Yuuri pushed aside the weakness of his anxiety, and pressed onward. The airport was bustling and people were everywhere. Thankfully, everything was going relatively smoothly, and getting through customs and security only took an hour. It was better than he'd expected, but he knew better than to complain. If fortune wanted to smile on him for the first time in several months then he wouldn't scream and cry. He'd already done enough of that following the deaths of Phichit and Celestino.

It hadn't taken long to get hold of Celestino's other living pupils. JJ seemed slightly more upset than Otabek, who had taken the news with a grain of salt, and then told Yuuri the pin so that he could withdraw enough money to get himself established in Detroit. JJ offered to meet up with Yuuri to help him get adjusted, since he was in Canada, but Yuuri declined the offer. He didn't really want to pull anyone into any potential danger, since he had an inkling of a feeling that he hadn't seen the last of Viktor.

Outside of the airport, he hailed a taxi, and shakily read out the address for the apartment building that he had arranged to rent from. There were still a few things to sort out, but Yuuri had insisted on moving in as soon as possible, and he'd already had some furniture set to be delivered on the day that he set down. He hoped that everything would already be set up by the time he got there and he was pleased when he walked in and found that it was done.

He was pretty worn out from the flight, so collapsing onto the bed without much thought was easy enough, and his eyelids fell quickly. An instinctual part of him nearly had him jumping out of bed as he remembered that he'd forgotten to put up wards, but he brushed the impulse aside. He didn't need wards anymore since all they'd do is make him irritated or incapable of entering his own apartment. Getting locked out because of a weird drawing under the doormat probably wouldn't sit well with the landlord, so avoiding his old hunter habits was probably for the best.

Maybe it was because he was alone that he was starting to revert back to old habits, but he couldn't say for sure. When he'd been staying with Phichit and Celestino, he hadn't felt the urge to go back to his original ways after the first few days, and he wasn't sure why they were flaring up again. It wasn't a big deal, as long as he didn't sleep walk or something, but it was weird. He shrugged it off as being back in Detroit, after all, he'd spent almost his entire time there as a hunter.

When he'd arrived in America, he was supposed to be going to school. Unfortunately, things turned sour after the first month when he was attacked. Luckily, someone had been there to save him, but it had dragged him into the life of hunting, and he found it difficult to go to school. He managed, of course, but it wasn't easy, and, once the year was over, he was quick to drop out so that he could focus his energy on other things. That was also when he met Viktor, who also had a bit of an influence on his leaving school, and things just seemed to fall into place from there on out.

He smiled faintly at the warm memories, but they quickly turned sour as his mind quickly thrust the image of Viktor pinning him to the wall back into his face. There were so many mixed feelings on the matter, but the predominant one was bitter hatred towards Viktor for being so quick to judge. But, on the other hand, he couldn't be that mad when he'd been the same way before he'd become a demon. He wouldn't have hesitated to pull the trigger on Phichit or Celestino and that sent chills through him. How could he have been so narrow minded and convinced that every demon wanted to murder and torment humans? It felt wrong at that moment, but he knew he likely would have felt differently if he were still human.

Perhaps it was for the best that he had been turned. It had definitely opened his eyes, but it had ruined a lot of his life at the same time. He did have a new start, but a deep part of him still longed to be on honeymoon with Viktor. A more rational part continuously chanted the reasoning as to why that wasn't happening, but the broken hearted portion of his soul didn't want to hear it. He wanted to cherish the good memories with Viktor, but they were all tainted with sorrow and anger. It was as though Viktor's actions had spilled bottles of ink onto all of Yuuri's memories, darkening them, and ruining the once cherished thoughts.

He wrapped his arms around his pillow, burying his face into it, and trying to push away the taunting ideas so that he could actually get to sleep. Fortunately, his mind was kind to him, and he was able to distract himself with mindless counting and breathing. It was something that he tended to do when he found himself troubled with anxieties. Deep, calming breaths were counted out, and the clenching in his chest dissipated enough that he could ignore it. The mindless task also helped lull him to sleep and he was soon sleeping peacefully with no thought of the past to keep him up.

The night passed uneventfully and Yuuri awoke the next morning in blissful peace. For once, he didn't reach for Viktor's absent form, and he was even able to pull on a smile as he got up and ready for the day.

First things first, he needed to find a job, and then he needed to start tracking down the large demon groups in the area. He had a plan for other things that he could do besides working and worming his way through the ranks of the hives in the area was a big part of that.

If he could do nothing else to prove Viktor wrong, he would at least start to turn some demons in the right direction. Yuuri could only assume that most had become the way they had because they didn't have some sort of guidance in their lives. There was no Celestino to help them control their impulses and Yuuri wanted to honor what Celestino had been doing for decades by continuing that on a much larger scale, but it would take a little bit of work. Fortunately, Yuuri had gleaned that his abilities were superior to most demons, and he had a feeling that power would come easily with that.

First, however, he had to find out where the hives were. Second, he would pick the smallest, and work his way up to commanding the group. Third, he would work on uniting all of the hives in the area until they were all underneath him. Finally, he would begin spreading his reach out to other hives, and, hopefully, hunters would start to realize that demons could change, and that a lot of them were just misunderstood.

But that sort of thing would take some time. Before any of that, he needed a form of income, and job hunting hadn't always been Yuuri's forteit. He'd never even really applied anywhere and he was going to have to start small since he couldn't use his past resume to get anywhere. Still, getting a job at a restaurant or something along those lines likely wouldn't be difficult, and, once he got there, running all of the hives would likely provide enough that he wouldn't even need to work.

So, he decided to get started, and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He stood, stretched his arms above his head, and walked into the bathroom with a yawn. A quick shower helped to soothe him with warm cascades of water and he savored the feeling. Once done with that, he got out, wrapped a towel around his waist, and mussed with his appearance until he was satisfied enough to leave.

He bundled up his clothes, left the bathroom, chucked his dirty clothes into the hamper, and pulled out a simple black t-shirt and jeans to replace what he had been wearing when he clambered out of bed. Pleased enough, he left the bedroom, and went through his things until he found his laptop. It was carefully tucked away between several layers of clothes to cushion it so that it didn't break on the flight.

He pulled it out, settled down on the couch, and popped it open so that he could start working on a resume. After that, he started looking for job ads posted online, and wrote down the addresses for a few so that he could drop off his resume at as many as he could. Before he could do that, however, he needed a printer, so he stopped off at the library, and made a few copies. The trip was uneventful and he was grateful for that. The last thing he needed was more craziness in his life.

The first stop was a bar, where he was applying for a bar tending position. The people there were nice enough, albeit gruff, and somewhat intimidating. Of course, Yuuri couldn't let that show, and he kept up a brave facade until he walked out the door where he was able to let out the tension from his shoulders. It would be a good place to weasel his way into the demon world, but he wasn't sure how he felt about the job. Still, he wouldn't turn it down if it was the only one that contacted him back.

The next was a small Chinese restaurant that was looking for a waiter. The couple that owned the restaurant were sweet and told him that the position had just opened because their son, Guang Hong, had returned to China to study abroad. Yuuri liked them immediately and he felt more like himself than he had in a long time as he chatted calmly with the two for a while before excusing himself so that they could get back to tending their restaurant.

Finally, he ended at a small business that was looking for a part-time secretary. It wasn't his first choice, but it would be something rather than the nothing he was making at that point in time. Passing over his resume to the owners was a stiff and somewhat awkward transaction and he had an inkling of a feeling that he wouldn't be getting the job. Whether that was because of his meager qualifications or the owner's seeming immediate dislike of him as soon as he stepped foot through the door was a whole other story.

There hadn't been to many other options since he was reluctant to apply at any fast food place, but, if it came to it, he wouldn't have much of a choice. He had high hopes, however, and went home feeling confident that he would hear back from at least one of the places. Part of him hoped for the Chinese restaurant, even if it paid the least out of all of the jobs, but he knew that the bar would be the best place for him to start getting involved with the local hives. Besides, it didn't matter where he ended up as long as he was able to get some money so that he didn't have to continuously live off of Celestino's funds. He felt bad enough for the man's death, he didn't want to take advantage of that fact anymore than he already had.

After the job search, he made his way back to his apartment to relax for the rest of the night, and settled down onto the couch with his laptop settled on his thighs. He stretched, figuring he could do some research for the time being to map out potential territories. While he wasn't the best at figuring out demonic crimes, he could still make crude guesses about boundaries and the like. Based on his knowledge, there were at least three hives, but that had been true years ago before he'd run off with Viktor. By that point they could have splintered, merged, or disappeared completely. Yuuri didn't know much about the hunter activity in the area, but, when he'd worked the area, there hadn't been many. Most hunters considered Detroit a lost cause and just let the chaos work itself out. Yuuri was one of the few that attempted to corral some of the issues, but he wasn't sure that he'd had that great of an impact on the area.

On the other hand, he might have done more harm than good, but he pushed that impulsive thought aside. Hunting in Detroit had mostly been him busting the hives for human trafficking, murder, or kidnap. He'd only really been able to do the work by investigating and getting the evidence he needed in order to conclude that it was demons and that they needed to be stopped. Of course, there had been the occasional demon that he'd just happened upon, but he didn't really want to think about that, and instead turned his attention back to the search engine that awaited him.

His fingers drummed softly across the keys and he scanned his eyes over the search results, carefully sifting through the links. After a moment, he put his laptop aside, and got up to scrounge up a notebook and a piece of paper so that he could start making a rough map of the city. Once that was done, he looked at the computer screen for a little longer before starting to lightly draw out lines across the paper. It took about an hour before he was satisfied with the drawing. In the end, he wound up with a city divided into four sections, and he stared at the paper for a moment longer before nodding and setting it aside.

He had everything that he needed, he just had to go to each section, and make his presence subtly known. Yuuri refused to do anything drastic to draw attention to himself, but he was sure that a small show of his powers would be enough to get a couple of demons interested, and, since he wasn't attached to any hive, he would likely be recruited quickly. Things got touchy from there, but he'd worry about that once he got there. Until then, he had to worry about what it was that he was going to do, and what of his abilities to use.

With Celestino and Phichit he was able to find that, not only was he swift, but he had an incredible amount of energy at his disposal. This allowed him to create forces to push and pull, shock people (he was still working on that one), and gave him the speed that he'd relied on on a few occasions. He hadn't refined his newfound powers much, but they weren't out of control, and he could use them well enough on his own. They were useful and they would definitely garner attention from other demons, which was exactly what Yuuri wanted...even if he was reluctant to draw their eyes towards himself.

He'd never liked being in the center of attention, but if he wanted to make a difference, and to prove Viktor wrong, then he needed to do it. Continuing on with what Celestino had been doing was a good cause, but the impact wasn't good enough for hunters to take into consideration. The stakes _had_ to be upped in order to garner the sympathy and support that Yuuri needed so that senseless killing would stop on both sides of the argument. Demons needed to know that they didn't need to kill to live and hunters needed to realize that demons weren't the soulless monsters that they thought they were, but neither side would come to those conclusions unless someone nudged them in that direction. As difficult as it was for him to come to terms with that, Yuuri knew that he needed to be the one to do it.

Sure, other hunters had likely been turned into demons, but they hadn't been as fortunate as him to gain control over their impulses. From what he knew, most hunters turned demons killed themselves or got themselves killed by running head first into hunter territory. Either that or they lost control and went into blood rages that morphed them into monsters worse than the creatures they had already been hunting. Yuuri could only assume that he was the first to go through the transformation and still remain like himself or, at least, the first to do it and have a burning passion to fix things.

It almost saddened him to know that Viktor was a large part of why he was so motivated. He wanted to show him that he was in the wrong for what he'd done, for what he planned on continuing to do. He wasn't sure what would happen after he got his point across, but he honestly wasn't sure that it ever would. Viktor wouldn't want to concede defeat to his fiance turned demon and Yuuri probably wouldn't be as lucky as he had been last time, so he'd have to hope that his actions would speak louder than he ever could.

If he could convince Viktor that he was wrong, maybe things could go back to how they were. Not exactly, Yuuri knew he could never forgive Viktor for what he did to Celestino and Phichit, but he still wanted desperately to be with his ex. Despite everything, he still deeply loved Viktor, but he couldn't go back in time (he'd tried), and he couldn't reverse what had happened to him. He couldn't change Viktor's decision and he couldn't change the hate and bitterness that filled him in the aftermath of that moment. Seeing the piles of dust replacing the spot where his mentor and friend had been would be burned into his memory for the rest of his life and Viktor needed to know how much that had hurt Yuuri. He needed to know that nothing could ever make up for it, but he also needed to know that Yuuri still felt _something_ for him. While diminished, it was there, and he couldn't get rid of it, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that he hated the other man.

Of course, it would take time before Yuuri could get his plan rolling in the direction that he wanted it to, but the map that he'd constructed of potential hive boundaries would help greatly. He'd go out the next day to go scope out the areas and see if he couldn't refine the crude markings to be more accurate while also marking which ones were the larger groups and which ones were smaller. Once that was done, he'd worm his way in, and continue on with the plan from there. It was a little intimidating to think about, but he assured himself that he could do it. All he had to do was show off a little and garner up all the confidence he could muster in order to pull it off.

Slowly, he closed his laptop, and rubbed his forehead. He leaned back, resting against the back of the couch, and resting a hand over his stomach. He'd need to feed soon or he'd risk going into a blood rage, but he was still scared to take blood from any human. The consistent fear that he would wind up killing them nagged at him constantly even as he tried to convince himself that he was more than capable of restraining himself.

With a sigh, he got to his feet, and gathered up his keys before going to the door. The knob twisted roughly under his hand and he stepped out into the hallway before heading outside. A walk would help relax him and then he could find someone to pull to the side so that he could get his fill for the night. It was nerve-wrecking, but it was necessary, and Yuuri wanted to get it over with as quickly as he could. Unfortunately, it was more of a matter of getting himself worked up enough to actually go through with it that would hinder him more than anything.

About an hour later, he was back home, sated, and relieved that he hadn't done anything overly harmful to the unfortunate donor. Yuuri ran his fingers through his hair, plopping back onto the couch, and turning on some music before curling up. His eyes fell shut and he sighed, missing having the comfort of another person in the room. He missed Celestino, Phicht...Viktor. He'd grown so used to having other people around that being alone was foreign to him and he remembered exactly why he hated the feeling.

Anxieties and worries were more capable of nagging at him without someone there to distract him and the lack of things to do only caused it to gnaw at him more. He clenched his eyes shut, face scrunching as his chest twisted and wrenched, and sat up. He turned off the music, walking into his room, and laying down on the bed. His breathing began to become more rhythmic while he worked on calming down, but his pulse still beat quickly in his ears, and tears pricked at his eyes as he lost focus. He began to take quick, sharp breaths, and his vision clouded over.

His pillow became his anchor to reality as he clutched tightly at the case and rolled onto his side as the first few tears trickled down onto the fabric that rested beneath his cheek. The pressure of the situation that he was in, the sorrow that was still there from the deaths of friends and the loss of the person he loved most, and every other little thing suddenly seemed crushing and Yuuri began to wish that the transformation had rid him of his anxiety as well.

He choked in a deeper breath after a few minutes, slowly coming down from the panic attack as he started trying to rationalize the worries that had overcome him. It didn't take long for exhaustion to take over his mind and he closed his eyes, finally just ignoring his own thoughts completely in favor of slipping into peaceful sleep. He had a plan, he knew what he was doing, and nothing was going to change that.

Not even the appearance of one Viktor Nikiforov in the Detroit area only a week later.

 


	5. Bottom of the Glass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor has arrived in Detroit and is on the hunt...for more alcohol. Yuri is sick of Viktor's shit and we finally get to meet Otabek.

Viktor swirled the glass in his hand absent-mindedly. The clouded liquid on the inside sloshing up the sides with every twitch of his wrist. Unfortunately, he couldn't find himself at a bar, and was instead forced to slosh down cheap liquor in his hotel room. There wasn't a dining table or anything, so he was stuck in the uncomfortable desk chair which only seemed to make the setting more fitting. After all, he was still trying to drink away his problems. It still wasn't working, but that just meant he had to try harder.

“Oi moron, you're going to kill the last brain cells you have left drinking anymore of that shit,” Yurio's voice cut into his attention and he turned his head towards the teenager. The younger of the two was standing with his arms crossed over his chest and his face was twisted with a mixture of disgust, anger, and disappointment. It was quite the array of emotions, but Viktor was all to used to seeing this particular expression. Yuri seemed to reserve it just for him, but it was meant to get him off of his ass, and Viktor had come to appreciate it.

“Calm down Yurio,” he drawled, covering the top of the bottle, and pushing it away. To spite the other hunter, he swallowed the last of what was in his glass, and set it down a little harshly on the countertop, “I know my limits. I just needed something to help me sleep...” it wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't true either. He was trying to forget about Yuuri. The damned image of his beautiful fiance dying in his arms haunted him, especially as they'd arrived in Detroit nearly two weeks prior to try to kill the hunter turned demon.

Yurio scoffed, rolling his eyes, and snatching the rest of the alcohol out of Viktor's reach. He stashed it in the mini fridge, then turned his gaze back to Viktor, “You're trying to get shitfaced so you don't have to deal with facing Katsuki again. This is exactly why I came with you,” he scolded and Viktor couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. Yurio would make a great parent one day...maybe Viktor could be their godfather and spoil them silly while Yuuri chastised him for splurging too much on a child that wasn't even _his_...

A single tear slid down the tip of his nose. It clung tightly to the skin for a moment, wavering as it tried to keep from falling, but, much like Viktor, it collapsed, and splashed onto his lap. The salty liquid continued to trail down his face, streaking paths down his cheeks, and making him look like more of a wreck than he already was. It was pathetic and he hated that he couldn't stop himself from breaking down into a complete and utter mess every time that he thought of Yuuri.

“Viktor...” Yuri frowned, walking over, and grabbing his shoulders. His fingers dug into the skin and Viktor looked up slowly to meet the younger's gaze, “Quit your god damn bawling. It's disgusting. You're Viktor Nikiforov for fuck's sake. Demons are scared shitless of you and here you are crying like a newborn because you can't fucking cope. Get your shit together and get this job done or I'll go out and do it for you. I don't give a flying fuck about your selfish quest to put him down. So figure this out, suck it up, and move on already!”

Silver lashes slowly lowered, then lifted again as Viktor's sluggish mind struggled to pick up on what Yurio was saying. He was still back-tracked by the thought of Yuuri holding a precious baby in his arms. Maybe they'd have adopted an older child. Viktor didn't care, as long as they could call them their's, “We would have had such a lovely family Yurio...” he whispered softly, pulling the teen into a bone crushing hug, and managing to get snot all over his shoulder.

Yurio took a breath, rolling his eyes, but ultimately hugging Viktor back, “I know you big baby. Come on, you're drunk, and you need to get to bed. We need to start looking tomorrow. We've only got two weeks before Yakov drags us back by our ears so you'd better be ready,” he pulled Viktor out of his seat, stumbling under his weight briefly, and then making his way over to the bed. Viktor sank onto it gratefully and let go of Yurio so that he could slide underneath the covers, “...Moron you forgot to take off your shoes.”

Viktor didn't pay attention to the last bit. He was already drifting and dreaming of a better future where he wasn't trying to kill his fiance.

He woke with a pounding headache. It shot through the entirety of his skull and he groaned, rolling to his side. Thankfully, Yurio had taken pity on him and left some water, a bottle of aspirin, and a small note on the side table. Viktor swallowed the pills, sat up, and looked over the note that was scrawled out in illegible chicken scratch. He wrinkled his nose and decided that he'd have to have a chat with Yurio about his horrendous handwriting.

 

_I went out to get some breakfast and coffee. I'll be back soon, so get ready to go. I'll bring you back a bagel or something. DON'T GO ANYWHERE._

 

Viktor snorted. As though he'd actually take off while Yurio was gone. That wouldn't end well and his head was throbbing in time with his heart rate, so he didn't even want to think about moving out of bed. So, he grabbed the remote for the television, flicked it on, and watched some random soap opera that made no sense to him whatsoever. It was mind numbing at least and he almost didn't notice when Yuri came back until a bag was tossed onto his lap, “Eat.”

He glanced over at his small companion, then opened the bag, and delightedly took out a bagel, “Thank you Yuri,” he took a bite out of it and leaned back against the headboard of the bed. There was a pause of silence, so he waved the hand holding the food at the television to break it up, “You know,” he swallowed, “I wish that we could live like these people sometimes. Sure it's a little dramatic, but at least it's a little normal.”

“Viktor, if you wanted normal, you would have gotten it already,” Yuri huffed, blew a piece of hair out of his face, and crossed through the room to sit down on his bed, “You're an adrenaline junky like the rest of us, but you're pretending that you aren't so that you can pretend that you and the little piggy turned wolf didn't have to deal with this. You're mourning Viktor, because you think that if you'd given up on this life that he'd still be around, but you can't fucking change it so you might as well accept that this is how you're living, moron.”

The older of the two blinked and chewed on his bagel thoughtfully, “You're right,” that earned him a shocked look from his counterpart and he laughed, “What? I'm not going to deny what's obviously true. Normality would have kept Yuuri from becoming a monster. Instead maybe he'd be wearing an apron in the kitchen. Wouldn't that be cute? I can picture it now-”

“Well stop picturing it before you make yourself a sobbing mess again!” Yurio snapped and stood up off of the bed with a huff. He threw on a couple of holsters and a jacket and then went to the door, “I'm going to go kill something. Watch your stupid soap operas and bitch about him to yourself.”

The door slammed shut hard enough to shake the box-set t.v, but Viktor hardly seemed phased. He just took another bite of his bagel and flicked the television off before going to the window. He pulled the curtain back, watching Yurio take off, and smiled to himself. Perfect.

In all honesty, he had hoped that Yurio wouldn't come with him in the first place, but he hadn't really been able to stop him. So, he just had to rely on Yuri's innate ability to get pissed at everything to gain himself some time alone. Part of him felt bad for manipulating him like that, but he needed to face Yuuri on his own, and Yurio would only make that more difficult if he came along for the ride.

So, Viktor gathered up his gear, threw on a jacket, a hat, and a clean shirt, and took off into the streets. It wasn't as though the city was small, but he decided to check out areas where demonic activity would be greater. Which, of course, led him to being sat in a bar at eleven o'clock in the morning. Maybe he'd really just wanted to get out so he could get his hands on more alcohol, but he wasn't about to admit that.

He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, lazily watched a news broadcast about the sudden decrease of murders in one area of the city, and didn't bother to glance over his shoulder as someone else entered the building. Viktor took another swig of his drink, set the glass down, and waved the bartender over to give him some more, “You know, you're a little early to be downing this much,” the man joked as he poured the liquid into his glass, “Most people wait until noon.”

Viktor cracked a half-assed smile and let the amber liquid pour past his lips with a thick swallow, “I've had a lot of problems before noon,” he spoke dryly. It was true, but not entirely. He hadn't done anything this morning except watch soap operas, get Yurio pissed off, and think about Yuuri. Most of which weren't that bad, but the thought of his fiance continued to get him down.

“Ah. Troubles with the marriage huh?” the man nodded towards Viktor's ring and clucked his tongue as he looked through all of the bottles on the shelves, “Can't blame you for coming in here. Sometimes my wife says that I took this job so that I wouldn't have to see her...I haven't got the guts to tell her that she's right!” he laughed and Viktor managed to make a genuine enough sound to compliment it.

“I uh...I'm not married,” he shook his head. He should have been...but he wasn't, “I have other issues to worry about more than-”

“Um...excuse me?” a hesitant voice interupted him and he turned his head before immediately looking away. Fuck, “Sorry. I applied for the bartender position and I got called in to take over? I might have gotten the time wrong, but I'm pretty sure he said to be here before noon.”

The bartender nodded, “You're on time kid, don't worry. I had them bring you in a little early so that you could get some practice in before you start. Let me just finish up with this gentleman here. You can go hang up your coat in the back,” he inclined his head towards a door and Viktor heard footsteps shuffling away.

He let out a small breath of relief and fished out some money from his wallet, “I don't need anymore, thank you. I'll be on my way,” he made sure to leave a decent tip and then ducked out of the building without another word. His heart hammered in his chest and he wasn't sure if the flush in his cheeks was entirely because of the alcohol.

Fate had a cruel sense of humor. Of course, he would just so happen to walk into the bar that Yuuri Katsuki was starting to work at on the exact _day_ that he began training. And, of course, Viktor would be too incoherent and stunned to do anything about it right then and there. It would have been so easy to just lift his gun and shoot him right between the eyes, but he didn't do it. He froze, panicked, and got the hell out of there because he couldn't do it. He couldn't watch Yuuri die again. Even if this Yuuri wasn't the one that he'd cradled while he watched the life fade from his eyes.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and cursed under his breath as he made his way back to the motel. Yuri was right, this had been a bad idea from the start, and he shouldn't have gone to Detroit. He was stupid to think that he'd be able to muster up the ability to kill Yuuri when he'd broken down so headily the last time that they'd interacted. Just the appearance of Yuuri was enough to shatter him and that wasn't a good quality to have when Viktor had done some terrible things to earn Yuuri's hatred.

The motel rose up in the distance and he quickened his pace so that he could get back. His key slid into the door and he walked in. Luckily, Yurio was still gone, and Viktor had a feeling that it was because he hadn't been able to find many demons in the broad daylight. It was a little cliché, but they were a little easier to find at night.

He pulled out his phone, scrolled through a few sites, and then tossed it aside as boredom overtook him. The bars were off limits, the t.v wasn't very entertaining, and he was too numb in the head to think of anything to do on his phone. He couldn't go out, he had the potential problem of running into Yuuri or Yurio, and he didn't want to risk that. So, he was stuck in the hotel room with nothing to do, but close his eyes, and hope that things were better when he opened them.

They weren't.

Viktor woke up to darkness and someone tying his hands together. He tried to speak, but a piece of cloth muffled him, and he immediately jerked against whoever the hell was doing it. More than likely, it was a demon, but he didn't understand how they got past all of the defense systems that he and Yuri had set up. There were wards, devil's traps, and everything else that would ward of creatures of hell. How in the hell did this one get past?

“Viktor, stop,” the familiar voice cut him to the bone and he stiffened, but then went right back to his jerking and struggling. He managed to rip his hands away long enough to yank out the gag and tear off the blindfold, but then an invisible force was pinning him down, “I said _stop!_ ” Yuuri looked more annoyed than pissed, but it was also obvious that he was concentrating on something. Viktor pieced it together pretty easily that it was whatever was keeping him stuck on the bed.

“Listen to me, if you don't quit they're going to hurt Yurio,” he spoke a little quieter as he pulled Viktor's hands in front of him again and quickly knotted them together. He glanced over his shoulder and then visibly slumped, “Just stay quiet, don't move, and pretend to be unconscious...and _listen_ for once in your life,” he added the last bit as he put the blindfold and the gag back where they had originally been, “Trust me...please.”

Yurio. Fuck. Viktor should have called him rather than assuming that he hadn't gotten himself into some kind of trouble. Of course the young hunter would get himself tangled up in the spider's web like the angry little pest he could be. Still, he didn't deserve whatever they would do to him if Viktor didn't do as Yuuri said.

He could feel Yuuri's gaze on him, but he didn't do anything else, and he felt himself being picked up and slung over his fiance's (ex-fiance's?) shoulder. Viktor had no idea as to what was going on or how the demons knew where he was staying or that he was even in Detroit. He'd done everything he could to keep things under wraps...unless Yurio had spilled, but that seemed unlike the fiery teen. He was too stubborn for that and any demon that tried to pry answers out of him would get nothing but spitfire and insults.

“Not bad Katsuki,” someone noted dryly and Viktor swung awkwardly as Yuuri came to an abrupt stop. They were outside and Viktor heard the click of the motel door closing behind them. Yuuri stiffened slightly upon hearing the voice and Viktor fought to keep from doing the same.

“I told you I could do it,” he huffed, pulling on a completely different persona from what he was actually feeling. Viktor knew that he was anxious, scared, but he wasn't shrinking into himself like he normally was. Did he still have the ability to calm him? Despite everything that had happened? Was Viktor still that significant?

There was a brief pause of silence and then fingers gripped tightly into his hair and it took all of his willpower not to cringe. He managed to stay limp and lifeless as whoever was doing it let out a small laugh, “Viktor Nikiforov. It's so funny that he's being brought down by you, Yuuri. I will say though, no one will think lesser of you for this. Hell, I'm tempted to hand over the reigns right now, but you'll have to go through with this first. Get everything from him that you can and then get rid of him. He's been a dark mark on demon history and the sooner that his body's dropped behind a dumpster, the better.”

“Yes ma'am,” Yuuri breathed and Viktor felt his heartrate pick up just a tad. Was Yuuri going to kill him? No. Surely he wouldn't? Then again, Viktor had gotten his two friends killed, and had nearly done the same thing to Yuuri. He couldn't really blame him for hating him, but to go through with killing him?

There wasn't a chance in hell. Yuuri wouldn't have left him conscious for that if that was what was going to happen. His lover had something else in mind, but Viktor was at a loss in figuring out what that was. Maybe Yuuri was just trying to trick him or maybe there really was something bigger that was going to happen. Either way, Viktor was sure that he didn't want to stick around for any of it. He was done meddling in the business of demons and he just wanted to retire and live the rest of his life out in peace.

“It's a good thing Emil recognized him and had you follow him out of the bar,” the other demon noted as she let go of his hair and Viktor heard her footsteps move in front of Yuuri, “His protege is proving to be a pain in the ass. I'm sure Seung-gil will get him to talk though. He has an eerily weird way of working through people...” she trailed off and then cleared her throat, “Anyways, take him back to base, and get the job done. It sounds like he'll wake up soon. I have high hopes for you Yuuri, don't let me down.”

“I won't ma'am,” Yuuri spoke quickly, but there was a sense of assurance behind his voice, “I promise,” he then gave a curt bow and spun on heel to start running.

Viktor knew that his hair was going to be a mess by the time they stopped. Yuuri ran far quicker than Viktor could process and he found that he couldn't breathe for a brief second before they came to an abrupt halt. His torso swung back and then his head hit Yuuri's back and he winced slightly, “Just stay like this for a little longer,” Yuuri spoke softly, but Viktor could just barely hear him. A door opened, shut, and Yuuri walked swiftly through an unknown building. Viktor hated being blindfolded, hated losing any of his senses, but at least Yuuri hadn't rendered him unconscious.

Another door opened and shut and Viktor found himself deposited in an exceedingly uncomfortable chair. The blindfold was gently taken from his eyes and he flinched under the naked bulb that hung in the ceiling. The first thing he noticed besides the awful lighting situation was Yuuri. He looked thinner than when he'd last seen him, paler too, but he was beautiful as ever. After being apart for so long, Viktor drunk in his appearance like a dehydrated man lying next to an ever flowing spring.

Yuuri's eyebrows drew together, creating a small wrinkle on the bridge of his nose. Viktor had always teased him about that particular feature of his. He always got that crease when he was worried or focused. He wasn't sure which of the two Yuuri was dealing with at that moment, but he was inclined to go with worry.

Yuuri met his eyes, hesitated for a second, and then hooked a finger in the gag and yanked it out of his mouth. Before Viktor could speak, Yuuri pressed the same finger to his lips, and shook his head, “Don't talk, not right now. Let me explain and then you can, okay? Just...nod or something. I don't want to put the gag back in. Your saliva's making it really gross.”

He had half a mind to be offended, but he slowly gave a hesitant nod, and Yuuri let out a breath of relief. He lowered his hand and sat down in a chair across from Viktor. His eyebrows drew up and Viktor could sense his total tenseness, “I don't know if you're going to believe me, but...please, if you feel anything for me then try.

“I didn't think that you'd actually show up here. It was really stupid of you to go straight into the heart of demon territory with nothing more than a hat on. You're way to recognizable, you should know that,” Viktor thought back to their first meeting. Yeah. He really did need to get better at disguising himself, “The bartender, Emil...he recognized you right off the bat. He had me follow you back to the motel so that we could get you. I don't know how they got hold of Yurio, but he should be okay. I don't think they plan on killing him. When people talked about 'Yuri' they thought of me so his reputation here isn't known...

“Anyways,” Yuuri ran his his hands through his hair, closing his eyes, and slumping forward until his elbows met the edge of his thighs, “I've been working with this group, because I have a plan. I'm going to change the demons in this area so that they aren't murderers anymore. I've already got a few of them working with me, but not everyone knows. The plan is to work my way to the top and then to get all of the hives to merge. I can't do that if you're coming around with Yurio trying to kill more demons! I'm doing this for you, because I'm trying to prove that we aren't inherently evil. We still have humanity and...and...”

He broke off, pressing his face into his hands, and Viktor felt his heart twist horribly in his chest, “I'm going to have to kill you Viktor. I'm sorry.”

Everything went still and quiet. His heart stopped beating and then shattered into an irreparable amount of pieces.

*******

**========================================================================**

*******

 

“Oi! Are you just going to keep staring at me or are you actually going to say something? Normally you demon fuckers are grilling me endlessly and ripping out fingernails or something. Why are you just sitting there? Do something! Hit me! Scream! Anything?” the last word came out as a broken question and Yurio finally shut his mouth as he slumped forward and stared at his lap. His hair cascaded around his face and he tugged against the ropes that kept his hands tied behind his back.

He'd given up on undoing the knot. One of the few things that the demon lounging across from him mentioned was that the ropes were enchanted and couldn't be so easily removed. Plus, it chaffed his fingers and wrists, and he'd need to keep himself at peak condition if he was going to wind up fighting his way out of wherever the hell he was.

The Korean demon kept a level gaze on him and Yurio felt as though the beast's gaze was digging into his soul. For all he knew, it could have been. Hunters didn't know the extent of demonic abilities, but he was pretty sure that it more just a sense of eeriness rather than actual powers. He couldn't be completely sure, but his instincts were telling him he was right, and he'd learned to rely on them for his everyday life.

Of course, they hadn't done him jack shit when three demons had appeared out of nowhere and incapacitated him in the blink of an eye. He'd managed to ram his elbow into one of their guts, but he couldn't do much else before they had him blindfolded, gagged, and rendered unconscious. When he woke up, he was sitting in a chair in a warmly lit room with a demon sitting quietly across from him, and that was where he'd been for the past...two hours? He wasn't sure how much time had passed.

For the most part, he'd just been yelling. Apparently they'd decided to take off the gag and blindfold, which he was glad for since they were really annoying, and he didn't think he'd stay sane if they didn't let him talk or see. He didn't know why they bothered to put them on when they just knocked him out anyway, but whatever. Leave it to demons to be as theatrical as possible while abducting a fucking teenage hunter. Pricks.

“Are you going to say anything? If you're just going to sit in here then turn your chair around you creepy monster,” he spat the last word as he sat back. On one hand, it was nice to not be going through physical torture. On the other hand, he just wanted _something_ to fucking _happen_ already! It was too nerve-wrecking to be stuck in a chair with a potential murderer sitting across from him. Why did he have to be so damn still? It was like staring at a statue that blinked on occasion (did demons need to blink? Was the fucker just doing that to mess with him?).

No words were spoken and Yuri gave up. He looked around the scarlet painted walls and memorized the golden, diamond-like pattern that criss-crossed along the dark red. It really was a pretty and ornate room, but he wanted to be out of it. He hated being cooped up for long. The only downside to being in America was that Yakov couldn't send any of the rest of the group after him. Hopefully Viktor would be able to do something, but Yuri wasn't about to put all of his faith in the asshole. He was probably moping about the damn pig and acting as though no one else missed the shithead.

For a few minutes, Yuri just steamed in his thoughts. He was considering yelling again when the door opened and another demon poked his head in. He had thick, black hair styled in an undercut and he looked like a total douchebag. Who the fuck wore sunglasses indoors?

As if sensing the thought, he removed the glasses, and looked at the demon across from him, “Seung-gil, they just brought in Nikiforov. The boss wants to see you. I'll sit with him for a while,” he inclined his head and the Korean demon simply nodded before getting to his feet and leaving the room.

The new-comer entered and shut the door gingerly behind him, “Who the fuck are you?” Yuri snapped. He wasn't sure if he was going to get an answer, but he could at least try.

“My name is Otabek,” surprisingly enough, the deep-voiced demon responded, and walked over to him, “Yuuri brought me in here to help him, but he wants me to get you out of here,” Yuri blinked as the ropes were removed and he gently rubbed at his scuffed wrists, “I'll take you somewhere safe until this is all over, but you're going to have to trust me for a second.”

“Yeah right,” the second he thought the other's guard was down, he swung a fist at him, but found himself stopped by the demon's hand shooting up quickly to clench around his wrist, “Hey! Let go of me!”

Otabek frowned and grabbed his other wrist, squeezing them, “I could leave you here if you want instead. Seung-gil is one of the most respected hunter torturers in this hive. He may not seem like it, but he's disturbingly good. Keep that in mind,” with that, he let go of Yuri, and the young hunter decided against trying the same trick twice.

“Where are we going exactly?” Yuri asked as he looked around the room, “And how are you going to get me out of here without someone getting suspicious? I thought you were part of this hive? Why is Katsuki having you risk your status to get me out of this hell hole?”

“I'm not going to tell you where we're going yet. You'll know when we get there. I'm going to look suspicious and the goal is to get kicked out of here. Yuuri has a plan, but he doesn't want you involved. That's all there is to it. Now, are you coming or not? Because I'm going either way,” a bored look was cast in Yuri's direction and he hesitated briefly before giving in.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, then flung his hand out exasperatedly while his other came to rest on his hip, “Fine, lead the way, but this better not be a trick. I can gouge your eyeballs out with my thumbs and cry into the bleeding wounds until it stings like a bitch.”

“You'd never get the chance, but the threat is noted,” Otabek spoke dryly and Yuri puffed up, ready to explode until the other turned away and walked towards the door, “I'm going to open this door and we're going to walk out as if nothing is wrong. Once someone notices, I'll pick you up, and get us out of here. If I get taken down and you get out, there's a motorcycle idling in the alley next to this building. Use that to get away and buy yourself a ticket back to Russia. Any questions?”

Yuri had to refrain from gaping at the blunt instructions, but he couldn't think of anything to say other than “No”. Upon hearing the confirmation, Otabek nodded, and opened the door. There didn't appear to be any other demons in the landing that opened up and Yuri was grateful that he didn't have to be whisked out by a demon just yet.

Together, they walked down the carpeted hallway, and Yuri had to refrain from looking over the edge of the railing to see how high up they were. Otabek led the way to the stairs and they descended quickly. At that point, everything had been going well, but it came to an end when someone pulled their head out of their ass and pointed out that a human was just casually walking around the demon base.

The few demons that were around instantly came at them, but Otabek had Yuri in his arms, and was out the door before they could even snarl. Yuri felt his breath stolen from him and he gasped as they finally came to a stop. Silently, Otabek set him down, and handed the blond a helmet, “Get on,” he said simply as he climbed onto it.

Yuri pulled the helmet over his head and awkwardly sat down behind him. He pulled his feet up and reluctantly slid his arms around Otabek's waist as he revved the engine and took off down the lamp-lit street. He ducked his head behind the other's back to cover most of the wind that was thrashing at his face and it suddenly dawned on him that he was utterly exhausted. Still, he didn't want to let his guard down in front of a demon, and he wasn't about to let years of training go to waste. Plus falling asleep while holding onto someone who was driving a motorcycle didn't seem like that safest idea on the planet.

He pressed his cheek to the demon's back so that he could keep his eyes open and watched the city go by in flashes of color and lights. No one seems to notice them and they weave through traffic as though it isn't even there. It's exhilarating, but terrifying at the same time. He has an inkling of a feeling that they weren't stopping when they were supposed too, but he didn't have a choice other than to trust that Otabek wouldn't get them killed while running a red light.

An unknown amount of time passed and the lights began to grow more sparse until they were on the outer limits of Detroit. A small motel with a flickering neon sign was their destination and Otabek calmly parked before letting Yuri dismount the bike. The blond passed over his helmet and rubbed at his arm as the night air bit into his skin. The helmets were clipped to the motorcycle and Otabek jerked his head so that Yuri understood that he needed to follow and led him to one of the rooms on the lower floor.

He produced a key from his pocket and let the door swing open so that Yuri could step inside. The hunter cautiously entered, still wary of the demon that had broken him out, and took a quick glance around to make sure it wasn't a trap. No one else was there, so he relaxed a little, and went to sit on the bed closest to the door, “This is the safe place?”

Otabek shut the door behind him and shrugged off his jacket. He tossed it onto a chair and sat on the opposite bed with his elbows on his thighs and hands clasped together so that his chin could rest on them, “No, but we'll have to travel a lot farther to get there. There are some things that you should know before you decide whether or not you want to go though. Yuuri wants me to just take you, but you're not a child who needs protection. You have the brevity of a soldier and you should be treated as such.”

“Quit the horseshit filled compliments and tell me what things I should know about,” he snapped, although he was slightly flattered that someone would compare him to a soldier. Sure, he was deadly in the field, but the others tended to compare him to a fairy or something along those lines. Of course, Otabek could have just been trying to get him to loosen up so that he could attack, but Yuri was starting to think that the demon really did just want to help him.

“If you insist,” Otabek seemed unphased and simply shrugged his shoulders, “Yuuri is planning on killing the Viktor that you know. He doesn't have a choice in that manner, the current leader of the hive is testing him, and if Yuuri wants to succeed in his plan then he has to do this. Before you start freaking out and attempting to steal my bike, let me explain what Yuuri wants to do,” Otabek held up a hand as Yurio went to jump from the bed, fists clenched at his sides, and fire burning in his eyes.

“The end game is to get the hives in Detroit to cease with murder. Yuuri wants to take what he learned from Celestino and pass it on to every demon that didn't get that chance. He contacted me to tell me about the plan and I agreed to help him with it. He didn't tell me what part I'd be playing, but apparently I get to make sure that you don't get killed...as long as you're willing to accept my help and trust that Yuuri isn't going to permanently rid the world of Viktor Nikiforov,” he finished and watched Yuri's expression, which mostly stayed bitterly angry.

He felt that he had a right to be. Viktor wasn't exactly his favorite person on the planet, but he'd be damned if he watched someone that he'd been working with for years go down just because his demonic ex decided to off him for the sake of saving a few damned souls, “What do you mean he isn't going to 'permanently rid the world of Viktor'? Either he's killing him or he isn't, so which is it?” Yuri demanded, slamming his fist into the mattress, and glaring furiously at the demon sitting across for him.

“I would think that you'd know that answer by now,” the other murmured, still unmoving, and stoic as ever, “Yuuri wants to turn Viktor into a demon.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey!! So, in addition to my wonderful Beta (theawkwardgrape), I've also gained someone willing to proofread my stuff! Big shoutout and thanks to Azasiel for helping me out with chapter (they've also proofread some of the chapters for Applause and they're a really big help!). I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Things are going to be coming to a climax soon (puns) and Chapter 6 is already largely in the works. As always, your comments are wonderful and beautiful! And if you'd like to talk to me about YOI or anything at all you can message me at my tumblr (thatonehomestuckchick15)!


	6. Finally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to genuinely apologize for how long this has taken. I've been in what has probably been the biggest depressive slump of my life, but I never meant to abandon this fic for so long. I promise that I'm going to finish this, probably before I update anything else. In all truth, most of this chapter has been done since I posted the A/N, but it was the last little bit that really killed me. I wanted it to have enough emotional impact, but I was so emotionally dead that I didn't feel like I was putting in enough.  
> In addition to the depressive slump, I also started another YOI fic (Bound by Word if you're interested) and I got into VLD, which took up a lot of my attention for a while (it still is, but YOI holds a very dear place in my heart. By no means am I not in the fandom anymore or anything). I bit off a bit more than I could chew, so from here on out I'm going to just focus on one fic at a time. It'll be a lot better for me and this way you guys will (hopefully) get more content.   
> I'm not going to put a guarantee on anything, but this fic is winding down. There will probably be one or two more chapters before I close up shop. That being said, this universe might not necessarily be done. I have an idea for how to continue it with a sequel, but I'll see how things go. The sequel won't be anytime soon, I've got to finish Bound by Word first, but it's got potential. Regardless, this story won't be left on any sort of cliffhangar. It can be a stand-alone and you guys are free to imagine whatever happens next :)  
> Anyways, I'll let you guys get to reading. Thank you for your patience and your kindness. I appreciate it more than you could ever know. As always, your kudos and comments warm my heart, and I hope that I can make up for this long absence of mine.   
> Enjoy!  
> I think I've finally found the inspiration for this fic that it needs to continue on and I actually have plans to extend it on past this story if you guys want (after all, Yuuri's still a demon

For a moment, Yuri was stunned into silence. There was no way in hell that what Otabek had just told him was true, but the demon wasn't giving him any signs that it wasn't. Abruptly, his emotions whacked him across the face, and he stood up with a furious glare aimed directly at the one who had delivered the news, “What the fuck do you mean that that demonic pig is going to turn Viktor into a demon! Not on my watch, hell no. Either take me back or give me the damn keys. I'm going to do what Viktor should have done already. I don't give a flying fuck if you bastards are wearing their faces, you're not them, and this is the last bit of proof that I need!”

“Yuri, calm down,” Otabek took a second to speak, which only made Yuri fume more, and stood from where he'd sat on the bed. He crossed the room in a few strides and reached out to touch his shoulder, but Yurio jerked away with a snarl, “Or don't. That's fine,” he reached into his jacket and set the keys on the table. Immediately, Yuri went to grab them, but Otabek snatched his wrist, and looked him in the eyes, “You have two options, Yuri. You can stay here for the night and we can make a plan together or you can run back to the hive and die. It's your choice.”

He stayed stock still as his wrist was released, then jabbed a finger into Otabek's chest, “You think I can't handle myself? I've killed plenty of hives before, I can handle this one too!” he snatched up the keys and stormed towards the door. The handle twisted easily under his hand and he flung it open with a _bang._

“How are you going to do that when you have no weapons? No backup?” the voice of the demon trailed out behind him and he paused, only then realizing that he really didn't have any of his stuff. No holy water, no salt, no guns, no knives...nothing and Viktor was out of the question. Yakov and the others were still holed up in Russia, Yuuri was the one who was causing all the issues, and Otabek obviously wasn't going to help him.

With a begrudging huff, Yurio shoved the door closed, and flung himself onto the nearest bed. He pressed his face into a pillow until he knew he was just being ridiculous and then rolled onto his back. His eyes stared lazily at the ceiling and he vaguely registered the sound of Otabek sinking back into his original position. The tension was palpable, but Yuri could feel the anger starting to dispel. It wouldn't help him figure out a plan on how to get Viktor out of the hive before he was turned, but time was not on his side, and neither was anyone else.

“He doesn't want too, you know. He's been torn up about it for a while,” Otabek spoke up after a moment, causing Yurio to look over at him with a single eyebrow raised. The question was obvious and the demon didn't hesitate to continue, “I've already told you, this is a test for him. If he doesn't do it, he can't hope to carry out his plan, but I'm not sure that it will work anyways. He's very optimistic that the demons will be willing to change if they see there's another way, but he hasn't been around as long as I have. They're set in their ways. I doubt that he can get them to change, especially with his past as a hunter.”

“Then why aren't you stopping him? Why don't you drag him away and make him give up this stupid idea before he ruins everyone's lives?” he sat up, snapping the words, and curled his fingers into the comforter. If Yuuri couldn't even fulfill his moronic plan in the first place, then he shouldn't have been doing it, and he definitely shouldn't have been dragging Viktor into it.

There was a brief pause before Otabek simply heaved his shoulders, “Yuuri can do what he wants. I told him my opinion on the matter, but he insisted on trying anyways, and I promised to help him no matter what. Besides, don't you think it's worth a shot? If he can get our kind to see that there are other options then maybe all this fighting can come to an end.”

Yuri scoffed and shook his head with a scowl, “That's wishful thinking and you know it. Even if he gets all the demons in Detroit to quit turning everything that breathes into its own personal buffet, there's still the rest of the world to deal with, and no hunter worth his weight in gold is going to believe that bullshit. All it's going to do is make it easier for hunters to wipe you out and if you can't tell that to Yuuri and make him believe it, then I'll beat that pig until he gives in.”

“You can do what you want, but if you go back there you will die or be turned. I'd guess the latter if Yuuri can help it and I don't think you want that.” Otabek spoke so simply. It was infuriating, mostly because he couldn't argue with it, and he knew that the demon was right. Yuri couldn't take on an entire hive without some sort of crutch to lean on...unless he could get back to the motel. Maybe the demons were too stupid to take their belongings. He'd never asked, but if they hadn't then there was at least one bag full of weapons and other useful items.

“I'm leaving,” he announced, got back up, and snatched the keys. He didn't wait for a response from Otabek before he went outside and jumped onto the motorcycle. He...had absolutely no idea how to work the thing. It was probably obvious since he just sat on it for a second and prayed that it was similar enough to riding a bike that he could get the hang of it.

He didn't notice that he'd been followed until Otabek spoke up from his left, “You're going to kill yourself trying to drive it. Move back. I'll take you.”

“Hell no, I'm not letting some random ass demon take me anywhere!” he huffed, glaring at Otabek, and furiously trying to get the bike to even start. After a moment, he began to realize that it was a futile effort, and he pressed his lips into a thin line as he considered his options.

It took a long struggle with his pride, but finally he cracked, “Take me to my motel,” Yuri instructed as he scooted to make room for Otabek. The demon clambered on in front of him, took the keys that Yuri slowly extended forward, and started the bike.

In an instant, they were revving off down the street, and Yuri clung tightly to the demon in front of him. For a moment, he gazed towards the sky, and admired the stars, but a rough pothole kept his mind from wandering, and he made a disgruntled noise upon being interrupted. Otabek was more careful after that, muttering an apology, but Yuri kept his eyes facing forward, and steeled his resolve. It wasn't going to be an easy journey.

The motel was a bit of a drive, since they'd gone so far from the city limits in the first place, but it was almost peaceful. Despite the roar of the motorcycle in his ears, it was quiet, and the rumble of the engine was more soothing than terrifying like it had been the first time around. Then again, the scenarios were slightly different since the first time he'd been on it he had no idea as to what was going on, but this time he knew exactly where he was going and what he was going to do. It wouldn't be the first time that he had to pull Viktor and Yuuri out of their own asses (not...literally. Gross. He didn't even want to think about _that_ aspect of their relationship) and he doubted that it would be the last for at least one of them. If Katsuki wasn't completely brain dead, he wouldn't try to turn Viktor, but if Viktor was the idiot that Yurio knew him to be then he would probably go along with it just so he could be with Yuuri again. Stupid lovesick bastard, why couldn't he just say that Yuuri was dead and move on like everyone else had? Then again, Yurio had almost been hopeful that Yuuri being a demon really wouldn't be that bad. It would get Viktor to stop moping at least, but he wasn't sure that he was even going to give the demon a chance to defend himself at that point. No, a bullet to the head was the best way to deal with him, and there wasn't anything that would change his mind in that regard. "We're here," Otabek said as he parked and turned off the bike which startled Yurio out of his thoughts. Sure enough, they were back at the motel, and he fished in his pockets for the room key. Miraculously, he still had it on him, and he found the door to the room that he and Viktor had been sharing. Once inside, he searched through their luggage, and breathed out a sigh of relief as he found the extra weaponry that they always kept on their person. A small smile tugged at his lips and he suited up, draping holsters across his chest and waist. He deposited holy water, salt, and guns into each individual pocket until he was satisfied. With a huff, he turned back to Otabek, and flicked his hair out of his face, "Now let's go save those dipshits." Otabek nodded, unsurprisingly wordless as they climbed onto the motorcycle once more. The engine started and they fled from the parking lot, Yurio clinging to the back, and praying to whoever would listen that they weren't too late.

  
  
  


 

 

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Time paused for what seemed like an eternity. It was as though the master of it all was holding his breath in baited anxiousness in that moment as Yuuri and Viktor stared each other down. There were still tears falling down the demon's face, but Viktor didn't have it in him to cry. His grief and pain was beyond that and he didn't know how to convey that. As a result, he was simply stunned into a shocked silence.

Yuuri was the one to break it, eyes locking onto Viktor's as he completely laid his desperation on the table for them both to see, “I don't want too Viktor, but if we don't do something else then I won't have another choice. There's another option, but I know that you'll think of it the same way. I promise that it isn't! I'm still me, even after all of this, I'm not-”

“No,” it was probably the easiest time that the word had slid from his lips. He wasn't stupid, he knew exactly what Yuuri meant, and there wasn't a chance in hell that he was going to agree, “You're not turning me into a monster. I would rather be dead, you know that.”

Yuuri blinked, then leaned forward, shaking his head quickly, “Viktor, _please_. I know how you feel about demons, I know what they've done to you, but this is the only way that you can stay alive and...and we can be together,” his voice cracked a bit, the pain and sadness on his face evident as he fixed Viktor with a pleading gaze, “We wouldn't have to ignore each other or try to kill each other anymore.”

On the surface, it did sound amazing. Viktor still loved Yuuri. His life had been empty and void until the other hunter came barreling in to save his stupid ass at that club all those years ago. He thought that he'd be completely sealing the deal when he slid the golden band onto his future husband's finger. For months, it seemed like everything would be perfect, but one mistake had left both of them in an irreparable dance of love and hate. More than anything, he wanted that to end, but was he really willing to sacrifice his humanity?

“There has to be another way. Yuuri, come back to Russia with me. We can try to find a cure for you, I won't stop until we do, but I don't want to become the thing that I've been hunting and killing for years. They killed my family Yuuri. I watched my parents die, I watched _you_ die,” Viktor choked on the words for a moment, swallowing down his continued grief, and looking at Yuuri, “You left me, Yuuri. You made it obvious that you didn't want to be with me, so why are you trying to fix things now?”

A flash of guilt made itself obvious on Yuuri's face and he lowered his eyes, “I was angry, Viktor. I was angry and scared and I didn't know what to do. I thought leaving would make it easier for you and for me to move on, but I was wrong. I'm trying to prove to you that I'm not the monster you think I am, but things have gotten out of hand, and if I don't do this then everyone here will just kill you instead. Please, try to understand Viktor I don't _want_ this. I never wanted this, but I don't have any other choice. I don't want you to die,” his voice slipped and Viktor could see the trails of tears that were trailing down his cheeks.

Yet again, he was at a loss for words, but the weight of Yuuri's ring in his pocket was still a heavy reminder of that night in the alley. The night that was supposed to be their wedding night. The night when both of them messed up, though Viktor arguably made the worse decision, “Yuuri...” he went to continue, but he was cut off as the door to the room slammed open, and a new figure entered.

“Well, Yuuri, you really did a good job in getting him here,” a voice drawled and their head tilted to the side as they examined Viktor, “I didn't think that _the_ Viktor Nikiforov would be so easy to catch,” there was an obvious snooty tone to her voice and Viktor wasn't a fan of it, but he held his tongue. He didn't know who this was, but it sounded familiar. He just couldn't place the voice, “You're going to be very influential after this. After all, demons have been trying for years to kill him.”

Yuuri seemed frozen, eyes wide as he looked at Viktor with an obvious fear in his eyes, “M-Minako, what are you doing here? I thought I was supposed to do it,” his voice was shaky and Viktor felt confused. Who was this other demon?

“You are, but I'm here to make sure that you go through with it,” she explained casually, leaning back against the wall, “I haven't spent my entire life tracking him down and waiting for his weakest moment just to let you ruin it. If you don't do it, I will, but you're smart, and he's done enough to hurt you that I don't doubt for a second that you'll do what you need too.”

It suddenly clicked. This was the demon from outside the motel room, “Yuuri what's-?” he stopped as Yuuri shot him a look and he clamped his mouth shut, forcing himself to stay quiet despite the multitude of questions that he wanted to ask.

Minako's lip curled, “You didn't gag him? I guess if you wanted to hear him scream without a barrier that's fine, but you haven't even gotten started yet. Come on, Yuuri. Don't you want to get your revenge for those two demon friends of your's that he killed?”

“M-Minako I'd rather be alone for this,” Yuuri meekly protested, slowly turning to look at her, and Viktor sat awkwardly through their stare down. Yuuri's entire body was tense while Minako remained relaxed and calm, but a twitch of irritation crossed over her features.

Abruptly, Yuuri was shouting in pain as he was flung against the wall. The dry wall caved slightly, leaving visible dents in several places where his body had landed, but no one had touched him. Still, his fiance remained pinned to the wall, eyes blown wide as he struggled against invisible bonds, “I should have known that you were too pathetic to go through with it,” Minako snarled from her place at the doorway, slowly advancing forward until she was face to face with Yuuri. He swallowed, throat rising and falling as the room practically vibrated with the sheer amount of fury that Minako was emanating, “I was hoping that my revenge would be that much sweeter, but I'll kill him myself if I have too. Some pathetic newbie who won't even kill a human isn't going to ruin this for me.”

“Minako, no!” Yuuri's eyes went wide again, but he was still trapped by something that Viktor couldn't place, “I'll do it, I will! Don't touch him!”

She scoffed as she walked closer to Viktor, who could only sit there, and stare at her, “I've been wanting to do this for _years_ , Nikiforov,” she spat his name, glared at him, and roughly grabbed his cheeks, “I thought it'd be fitting for you to be killed by your boy toy, but I should have known that he'd be too pathetic to so much as nip at your neck.”

Viktor worked his jaw, jerking his head from her grip, “Yuuri isn't pathetic. Why would you try to make him kill me?” he asked. He could see how it would have more emotional pain, but he doubted that Yuuri would have ever dragged his death out regardless so it would have only been a split second of that final hit of betrayal before he was gone forever.

“You killed my entire hive. My family was _dead_ because of some cocky fifteen year old who shouldn't have been able to do what you do,” she hissed, eyes flashing dangerously as her nails dug sharply into his flesh. A small bit of blood came up underneath her fingertips, but Viktor forced himself not to flinch or cower before her, “I was the last one left, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I thought that killing your parents would be enough of a warning,” that got his attention and he inhaled sharply as an intense hatred for the demon before him boiled in his chest, “but that didn't work. I was afraid you'd catch onto me, so I went underground a few years. When I heard about you being in Barcelona, I decided to investigate.

“Imagine my surprise when I saw you there with Yuuri here. It was just too cute. I had him for a while, but somehow you managed to show up to save the day,” she rolled her eyes, irritation evident on her features, “Yuuri got away and you proposed. How precious.”

She let go of his face, but twisted it to the side before she let go, “I started to come up with a plan as soon as I saw you two lovebirds. Breaking through all of your wards was the hardest part, he barely put up a fight,” she pointed to Yuuri, who was still trying to wiggle his way free, “And he was the perfect bait to draw you out.

“But, I didn't want to just kill him. That wouldn't do the job. I decided that turning him would be the best way to hurt you,” she smirked, “It worked. You were an utter mess. I'm surprised another demon didn't take advantage of you while you were moping around for all those months. Luckily, I didn't have to make you two run into each other, and you made things much funner when you killed his friends. I thought that he'd be thirsty for your blood and he actually had me fooled. I pretended to be sympathetic to him wanting to make demons peaceful or whatever, but I really just wanted him to kill you. I thought it would be a fitting end to all of this.”

There was a tense pause after she finished. Viktor trembled with fury and he glared at her, fingers curling into his palms, “You did all of this to get back at me? You killed everyone I cared about? _You_?” he had never seen her before, had never heard her voice, didn't even know that she _existed_ , and yet there they were. One demon had been cause for the most traumatic events in his life and he'd been completely oblivious to that fact. Emotions coursed through him, but the most prominent one was blinding hot anger. He rarely got angry and, even when he did, it was cool and collected, but this? This was a pot boiling over the edge.

“Not everyone,” she corrected, nose wrinkling, “I found that teenage brat that you kept with you trying to kill some of my underlings, but now I can't even taste his blood. Really, Yuuri, if you were going to break him out you could have been more inconspicuous about it,” she didn't lift her gaze from Viktor, but he saw Yuuri stiffen as she mentioned Yurio, “He did get away though, so I can't make you watch me kill him,” she huffed, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, “Not that it matters. I've been waiting for years to kill you.”

“Hundreds of demons have tried to kill me, I don't think that you'll be the last,” Viktor retorted, but he couldn't really see a way out of the situation that he was in. Yuuri couldn't do anything, Yurio was (hopefully) safe and far away from this particular hive, and Viktor had yet to figure out how to get out of his bindings. Unfortunately, it seemed as though Yuuri had been a little too thorough on making a knot that Viktor couldn't easily pick apart.

Minako let out a sharp laugh that sent the hairs on the back of his neck on edge and she leaned forward, bracing her hand on the back of his chair as she stared him down, “How do you plan to stop me, _Viktor_?” she taunted him, sneered, and leaned in closer to brush her fangs over his neck, “You're stuck. Your would-be-husband is too young and weak to fight me and all of your other friends are too far away to help you.”

“I'm not weak!” Yuuri's voice broke through the air and Viktor jerked his head back to see the beautiful man that he'd fallen head-over-heels for free and letting off an aura that sent chills down his spine. He couldn't figure out if he was scared, in awe, or thrilled, but Yuuri wasn't a force that anyone should want to fight against. He was intense, all consuming... _beautiful_.

The demon at his throat only had a brief second to be surprised before her back hit the opposite wall and she slumped to the floor with a groan. She was flung against it several more times before she was left to lie in an unmoving heap. It wouldn't kill her by any means, but it would keep her at bay for a minute or two. Meanwhile, Yuuri ran to Viktor, and undid the ropes, “I'm so sorry Viktor. I should have known that she was lying. I-” as soon as he was freed, Viktor cut him off. He cupped the other's cheeks and brought him in for a tender kiss. How could he not? His wonderful, amazing, gorgeous fiance that Viktor had been stupid enough to take for granted.

Slowly, he pulled back, and gently thumbed at Yuuri's lip, “Don't apologize Yuuri. Let's just get out of here,” he murmured, savoring the smile that broke out across Yuuri's face at the suggestion. It felt...right. His arms around Yuuri, Yuuri smiling up at him. It brought a sense of familiarity that he hadn't felt in months and Viktor never wanted it to end. He wouldn't let it end again if he could help it. No one was going to take away what was his again.

Unfortunately, he found himself ripped away from Yuuri by strong hands. A shocked sound that he wasn't proud of was pulled from him and a hand clasped tightly around his throat. With practiced ease, he was lifted off of his feet, and he choked as an infuriated Minako tightened her fingers into a crushing grip. She was a disheveled mess and Viktor realized that he and Yuuri had been too quick to celebrate his fiance's attempt at thwarting her, “You two make me sick,” she snarled, her fingers slowly threatening to crush Viktor's wind pipe, “I'm not finished with either of you yet!” she snapped, desperation filling her every action and word and Viktor could feel his airways starting to collapse.  
“Viktor!” Yuuri's voice shouted from somewhere far away as Viktor began to lose consciousness. He had a death grip on Minako's wrist and he'd been trying to kick her away, but it had done little to deter her. His ability to fight began to slip and all he remembered before things went black was Yuuri's continued screaming, followed by a loud bang.

 

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He didn't know what was going on anymore. One second, Viktor was getting choked out by Minako, and Yuuri was fighting against her mental grip on him. The next, Viktor was on the floor, unconscious, but alive, and Minako's hand was curled into her chest. Blood poured down her front and a wheeze left her as she stared in horror at the sight. A wail tore from her lips and she shot towards Yuuri, fire burning in her eyes. He was frozen in place, but a blow never came, and he watched with wide eyes as she withered away into dust.

He stared at her remnants, chest heaving as his mind raced to catch up with what was going on. Her betrayal still stung. It was probably the thing that had startled him the most. Minako had been one of the more respected demons of the hive and Yuuri had pitched his idea to her as soon as he was recruited. She'd seemed genuinely interested and said that she'd talk to the other higher ups to see if they couldn't start implementing it. To give demons their chance at redemption...what a cruel joke that had been.

She got back to him and explained that he had to prove himself to those who ran the hive. Yuuri had agreed without asking what that would be, too eager to get started. He assumed that he would just have to show that demons didn't have to kill to feed and that they didn't have to give into the negative stereotype that had surrounded them. He couldn't believe how wrong he'd been on that. Rather than showing the peaceful way that they could do things, Yuuri was asked to kill a hunter that had viciously killed hundreds of thousands of demons. He hadn't thought that it would be Viktor, but when he was asked to tail after him from the bar, Yuuri knew that things were not going to go well.

He'd been foolish enough to think that he could get away with just turning Viktor. He hadn't realized just how deep the vendetta against Viktor ran, especially with Minako, and he hated that he'd been used as a tool to draw Viktor out. Hell, he'd even been turned into a demon to spite Viktor, and in his vain attempt to make the world better, Yuuri had nearly gotten the person he cared about most in the world killed because of his naivety.

That was assuming that Viktor hadn't been irreparably injured by Minako's attempt to choke the life out of him. Yuuri couldn't think of how long she'd held him up, he didn't know how tight her grip had been, but he'd only passed out after she dropped him. Which brought him to wonder just who _had_ come to help them.

Slowly, he looked to the open doorway, and he didn't think that he'd ever been more grateful to have Yurio be as stubborn as he was. The teen had a pistol in his hand that he was slowly putting away and he fixed a glare on Yuuri, “Seriously? You two are so incompetent that neither of you thought to just use a damn gun on the bitch? Honestly, pig, I know you're stupid, but just standing there and watching him die doesn't do much good.”

“Yurio...” the lump in his throat grew and before the blond could protest, Yuuri's arms were around him, and he squeezed him tightly, “Thank you. Thank you,” he blubbered the words as he was shoved away by a disgruntled Yuri.

“Don't get your gross snot all over me, katsudon,” he grumbled and his eyes flickered over to Viktor, “We need to get him to a hospital. He's okay for now, but I don't know how long that will last,” he knelt next to his mentor, a deep frown crossing over his features as he cursed, “Idiots. Beka! Get your ass in here and get these morons while I call an ambulance. I don't think there needs to be a bunch of paramedics walking into this place when there's a bunch of random dust piles everywhere. Did we even kill all of them? Whatever. I'm calling an ambulance,” he rambled off and got to his feet as Otabek entered the room.

He looked at Yuuri, giving him a slight shrug, “He insisted on coming back and I thought that it'd be better if I were there to help him. I think he's running on adrenaline right now.”

Yuuri sank down next to Viktor, carefully moving him so that he could pick him up without jostling him too much, “I'm not upset, Otabek. I'm just glad you were able to get him out. And you guys did just save us. Minako was...not the person I thought she was,” he looked at the pile of dust and shuddered. He couldn't believe that he'd fallen for her tricks. He should have known that he couldn't change an entire group of demons so easily, but he'd wanted to believe that he could. Instead, he'd put himself and Viktor into serious danger. Of course, he didn't know that Minako had such a grudge against Viktor, but he should have known that something was up when she insisted that he capture and kill Viktor.

He followed Otabek outside, cradling Viktor carefully, and praying that he would be okay. He didn't know what he would do if Viktor died. The last few months without him had been so lonely and he'd missed Viktor's antics since he fled from Russia.

Yurio was waiting for them outside, a frown permeating his lips as he looked at the three of them as they walked out, “I thought the ambulance was going to get here before you lazy fucks,” he pressed his hands to his hips, expression faltering for a second as he looked at Viktor's unconscious form, “Is...is he going to be okay?”

“I'm sure he'll be fine Yurio. She didn't kill him,” Yuuri promised, a twinge of guilt turning into a floodstorm. He hadn't known that Minako possessed powers similar to himself and he couldn't even fight against them when she was holding him in place. Then again, she'd had decades to train her abilities. Yuuri barely had several months under his belt, “Yurio, you know I didn't just let her choke him, right? I didn't...I never meant for things to turn out like this.”

“Cram it piggy. You wallow in filth enough, you don't need to cover yourself in self-pity. Just make sure you tell this moron that you love him and quit being such a dramatic piece of shit. If you're really still you then prove it and quit making Viktor turn into a blubbering pile of tears,” the words were harsh, but Yuuri felt a hell of a lot better after hearing them. So Yurio did think that Yuuri was still himself, even after everything...and they had barely interacted since the night that Phichit and Celestino died, “For what it's worth, I'm sorry for trying to kill you, and about your friends. We didn't know.”

His face fell slightly and he adjusted Viktor in his arms, trying to push away the grief that was threatening to consume him, “I know. You did what I would have done if I was still human.”

Silence filled the air until the sound of sirens approached them and Yuuri reluctantly passed Viktor over to the paramedics. Unfortunately, with their questionable marriage status, and lack of familial relation, none of them could go with him in the ambulance. Instead, they were left to talk with the cops who had shown up to get testimonies so they could go after whoever had assaulted Viktor.

“You two go to the hospital before the piggy has a heart attack from worrying so much,” Yurio jerked his head and brushed his hair out of his face, “I'll tell them what happened,” he added, not giving room for argument as he walked over to the officers, and irately informed them that he saw the whole thing.

“Thank you Yurio,” Yuuri murmured and slowly looked to Otabek. It was strange to think that Yuuri had finely broken and called him once he found out that Viktor and Yuri were in Detroit. He didn't want either of them to actually wind up getting hurt. Of course, that night, everything went to hell anyways, and Yuuri had to quickly explain the rushed plan that he'd come up with. Said 'plan' basically boiled down to “get Yurio out of here and I'll figure out what to do with Viktor” and did not wind up going over well. Still, it was probably better that everything turned out the way that it did. Yuuri's intent to turn Viktor wouldn't have ended well. They'd make things work...even if that meant Yuuri living as an immortal being and watching Viktor grow old. As long as they had each other, even for such a brief moment of an infinite amount of time.

Otabek was silent as he lead him to his motorcycle and tossed a helmet at him, “You should have called me before things got like this. I could have helped you more,” he pulled his own helmet on, clipping it under his chin, and climbing on.

“I know,” Yuuri admitted, sliding on behind him, and holding onto him, “I'm going to make things right, but I need to make sure that Viktor's okay first. Please.”

A simple nod was all that he got in response before the engine revved and they were taking off onto the streets. Yuuri prayed that Minako hadn't done some sort of lasting damage to Viktor's throat, but he couldn't tell how harshly she'd been holding him. Based on how long it took for Viktor to finally pass out, he assumed it wasn't very hard, but he didn't know that. If she did do serious damage, Yuuri didn't know what could be done. He didn't think that Viktor would die, but he wasn't very familiar with asphyxiation, and that probably terrified him more than anything else.

He could only hope that Viktor would be okay, but, even if he wasn't, there was always an alternative. Yuuri knew that Viktor would hate him for it, but it was the only way that Yuuri could think of to save him. He didn't want to know what it was like to live in a world without Viktor Nikiforov and he wasn't about to let a demon hell-bent on revenge take that from him. Not so soon.

The drive to the hospital was drawn out and took too long for Yuuri's comfort. He could have just ran there in a manner of seconds, but he didn't need to draw any unnecessary attention to himself. The last thing he needed was another set of hunters after him, especially when he was so emotionally torn up over everything. They'd kill him in a heartbeat and Viktor didn't need to wake up to _that_ news again.

Luckily, Otabek didn't speak. Even as they pulled up to the hospital. He just let Yuuri off of the bike, gave him a sympathetic nod, and then drove away. Yuuri watched him go and sucked in a breath as he forced himself not to just burst into the hospital and demand to see his fiance. He stepped calmly inside, feeling more self conscious with every passing second, and he reluctantly approached the front desk to find out where Viktor was and if there was any news on him.

The secretary didn't tell him about Viktor's condition, but she did tell him the room number, and Yuuri quickly made his way there. The door was open when he got there and he stepped inside. Viktor lay peacefully on the bed, his neck mottled with dark red splotches, but it didn't look like the damage was as bad as Yuuri had feared. There was little more than an I.V and a heart monitor in the room and Yuuri thanked every possible thing that had kept Viktor from a worse fate.

Slowly, he sat down in a chair next to the bed, and rested his hand lightly over Viktor's. He could feel tears brimming in his eyes and he blinked quickly to dispel them as he ran his thumb over the back of Viktor's palm, “I'm so sorry Viktor,” he whispered into the dark of the hospital room. He lowered his eyes and his thumb ceased its movement as he became overwhelmed by a feeling of inadequacy and guilt that chewed him up from the inside out.

It was his fault that Viktor was in that bed. His fault that they were even in that situation. He should have left Russia sooner, should have kept his head low, should have let Viktor think he was dead. He shouldn't have accepted Minako's terms, he shouldn't have gotten so lost in his delusion fantasies that lead to Viktor nearly _dying_...

Viktor didn't stir or make any acknowledgment that he was awake and Yuuri knew that his words fell on deaf ears, but he was somewhat glad for that. It gave him some time to think back on what had happened in the past hellish months of his life. He hadn't realized just how deeply his sorrow for his ruined relationship with Viktor ran and it terrified him to think that it might never be fixed. Yuuri didn't know if Viktor still cared for him or if he'd even want Yuuri to be there when he woke up. No amount of apologies could ever make up for the damage that Yuuri's selfish desires had caused.

Slowly, he pulled his hand away, and wiped away a few more tears that had broken his barriers and slipped down his cheeks. He got to his feet and looked at Viktor one more time as he fought an internal war. On one hand, he wanted to wait and see how Viktor would react to him being there. On the other, he didn't want to make things worse if Viktor despised him. Yuuri wouldn't blame him if he did.

In the end, Yuuri decided to stay. He sat on the couch and held Viktor's hand like any other couple in their situation would. He watched Viktor silently for hours, taking in every detail of the relaxed nature of his face, and the way that his fringe of hair fell over one of his eyes. Eventually, he moved forward to brush it out of the way so that Viktor wouldn't wake up with an eye-full of hair, but his fingers lingered, and he hovered over Viktor. The simple physical contact made his heart wrench and he swallowed down the tears that threatened to build up. There had been enough tears shed between the two of them to last the rest of their lifetime.

“Yuuri?” Viktor's choked up voice broke through Yuuri's internal thoughts and his hand jerked back instinctively.

“Viktor,” he breathed out the other's name, but kept his distance. He was still so unsure about everything and anything that was or wasn't between them, “You're okay.”

The other's lips twitched into a brief smile before he grimaced and visibly swallowed, “I'll be alright.”. His voice came out small, weak, and it broke Yuuri's heart. He'd seen Viktor hurt many times, but that was usually nothing more than broken bones or a bruised eye.

“I'm so sorry Viktor,” his voice was arguably weaker than Viktor's in that moment and he sank back down onto the couch. His hand twitched, itching to reach out and take Viktor's again, but he pressed it firmly against his thigh to quell the urge, “I never should have believed her. I almost got you killed for some stupid idea that never would have worked.”

Viktor blinked and moved his arm, calling out for Yuuri without saying anything. They fit their hands together easily and as though nothing had happened. It felt like it all could have just been a bad dream, yet they were still months in the future. Yuuri wanted to wake up, to be back to how things were, but he knew that letting himself get lost in that idea could just hurt both of them more. At least the nightmare had reached its climax or Yuuri hoped it had. There was still loose ends to tie up and he still had to face Viktor and all that he had done since he'd been snatched from their bedroom. It was going to be messy and it was going to hurt and he was probably going to cry more, but he was going to face it, and he was going to accept whatever consequences he had to.

“Sh...” Viktor tugged on his hand until Yuuri relented and came closer to the bed. His smile was as dazzling as always, lighting up the gentle hue of his eyes as though he had the entire sun locking in a simple upward twitch of his lips. Yuuri wasn't too surprised by Viktor's silence in that moment, his throat probably still hurt like hell, but there was so much to be said.

That didn't seem to matter to Viktor as he let go of Yuuri's hand to pull him down and onto the bed with him. Yuuri's head settled onto Viktor's chest, mindful of his neck, and Viktor's arm came to wrap around his shoulders. It was a tight squeeze, Yuuri was all but using Viktor as his mattress, but it didn't matter. The simple action spoke much louder than any words could have and relief closed in on Yuuri's throat as he gripped the hospital gown and closed any space left between them.

They stayed like that for an uncertain amount of time. Neither of them moved much, Yuuri was sure that Viktor probably fell back asleep, but it was a perfect moment. It was better than their first kiss, their first time together, when Viktor had proposed, or any other moments combined. He knew, undoubtedly, that things would be okay between them from then on. They were together. Despite everything that the world had thrown at them, they were together.

“I love you...” the raspiness in Viktor's voice was mildly distressing, he'd have to keep off of his voice for a bit, but Yuuri couldn't focus on that. It was hard to focus on anything, Viktor's face was blurry as Yuuri shifted, lifted his head, and kissed him.

Time was kind enough to let it last and when they parted, Yuuri burst into a flurry of unhelped giggles. He hid his face in Viktor's chest again and, for a moment, everything was okay.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Also, if you'd like to come chat with me you can hit me up at keithsangstass on tumblr. I finally changed my url after all these years of being a Homestuck...

**Author's Note:**

> I have literally never written such a long chapter in my life. This was ten pages, single spaced with 12-point Arial font like what the fuck?? I usually get like 2,000 words, but I added another 5,000 to this. Hot damn. Please forgive any typos/grammatical errors though. I don't have a beta reader and I'm shit at editing my work.  
> I can't guarantee that this will update regularly, just because I've decided to make chapters so long, but I have a good idea of how I want this story to go and end so bear with me. I'll try to post once or twice a month, but college gets to be a pain in the ass so we'll see how that goes.   
> Also! For those of you that are viewing this because you recognize me as the author from "Applause"/the "Hands Together" series, I'm taking a break from that series to write this. I found a lot of inspiration to do this AU, but if I get the energy and time I'll try to update the two of them regularly (no guarantees there though please don't hate me. I love my stripper AU, but I love this AU too).  
> Anyways, thank you guys for reading! If you have any questions or would like an explanation for anything, let me know.   
> Basic run down of the demons in this AU: They have pointed ears, slightly slitted irises, and elongated canines. Abilities and powers vary from demon to demon (most have heightened reflexes, senses of hearing, and better eye-sight). All demons live off of blood (there aren't any incubi or anything like that) and are their own species. Their community groups are called "hives", but hives tend to be small to avoid drawing attention to them. Big hives tend to get found out by hunters and are destroyed. When demons die, their physical form disappears from the world forever, and they're damned to hell for the rest of their lives. Demons can either be born or a human can be turned into a demon. The process of turning a human requires draining them of the majority of their human blood and replacing it with a significant amount of demon blood. They have the typical weaknesses: salt, iron, etc. Aaand I think that's about it? If you have anything else you're curious about let me know :p


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